Finding Sky - Karla and Saul's POV
by TheMuchMuchierAlice
Summary: A retelling of Finding Sky from the POV of Karla and Saul. Have kept to canon as best I can, but as little is know about Karla and Saul, I have embellished and added to fill out the story a little more. Description subject to change as story progresses.
1. Chapter One

AN: Hey guys! It's been a while... and I'm sorry about that. I really mean it. It has been a while - several months in fact. I don't really have an excuse - just that writer's block is a bit of bitch and nothing I wrote felt like it was any good so I fell back into a classic bad habit and did a bit of editing - or rather a lot of editing. The following five chapters still follow the same story line except that I've added and removed parts to make it flow better, I feel like the timing in the story is a lot better and I like what I've written a hell of a lot better. I've also made Karla's friends a lot nicer, altered the way Karla's sessions with Dr Reeves work and I feel like I'm sticking more to how Karla is portrayed in the books. Once again, I'm really, truly sorry for my absence. I hope this is worth the wait. Please continue to read and review - it means a lot - and as always, please enjoy the story.

Quick key - _italics_ are for Karla's mind reading and _**bold italics**_ are for telepathy between Savants. **Bold** like this is for text messages & business cards etc.

 **Disclaimer - I don't own anything. All rights to Joss Stirling.**

 **Chapter One**

 **WEDNESDAY**

Mornings at the Benedict home were fearful jumbled things that involved elbows in sides and lines for the bathroom and people snapping over spilled milk and used-up cereal. Toast was burned, coffee abandoned on sideboards and the refrigerator door hung open and expectant for minutes at a time whilst textbooks were shoved into bags, shoes were tugged onto feet and keys were chucked from one set of hands to another.

For Zed and Yves, the youngest Benedict's, there was school. Yves sat at the kitchen island, bag tucked beneath his chair, spoon-feeding himself cereal with one hand while he scrolled through a group chat on his phone with the other. Zed slouched in his seat, shoveling eggs and toast into his mouth while he glared at anyone who attempted eye contact with him. Xavier, on the other hand, was still in bed. Having just graduated high school, it had become Benedict law that Xav would not surface from his room before noon, and any attempt to encourage the opposite would result in tossed pillows and a lot of cursing and grumbling.

Saul hung about the kitchen, a large mug of strong black coffee in hand as he advised Yves on clubs and schedules, pressing the occasional kiss to his wife's head when she slipped past. At some point, he believed she had swallowed a mouthful of toast, before shoving it in his hand when Zed called for her help. Now, Karla darted about the house, complaining loudly about her kitchen being a mess and the refrigerator door hanging open and her missing hair pins while she looked for Zed's textbooks.

"You've been at school for three days - _three days_ \- how can you have lost them _already_?" she shrieked in disbelief as she ransacked the utility room, tossed video game cases aside in the living room and slammed the refrigerator door shut for the third time. "For crying out loud, boys, _it's a door_ ; it shuts the same as any other!"

Finally the sun rose behind the mountains, turning the sky a fiery orange as it glistened off the frosted mountains. As Zed sloped off to get changed into attire more suitable for school, Karla waited for him at the top of the stairs, his textbooks resting on her lap. She rested her head against the wall, watching as the sun turned her cream walls a sun-kissed gold and sighed gently. The bedroom door slammed behind her and she lifted her head in time to stop her youngest son from leaving without his books.

"You left them in the hall," she said softly, holding them up for him to take. Zed grimaced and stuffed them in his backpack, then slung the bag over his shoulder and started to descend the stairs. There was no thank you; Zed spent as much time as he could living up to the teenage stereotype, which meant no time for pleasantries.

 _ **I can't see where your future lies, Zed**_ _,_ Karla told him, feeling almost guilty for her lack of sight regarding her son's future. He sighed loudly and stopped on the stairs, before turning and looking down at her with a scowl that she tried not to let hurt her.

 _ **Neither can I,**_ he replied, clenching his fist around his drumsticks.

"I want you to do well, darling."

He shook his head. **'** _ **Doing well' doesn't seem to be my style at the moment, mom.**_

"You'll disappoint your father," Karla reminded him.

 _ **I'm disappointing everyone at the moment. What does it matter? I have to do what's right for me and right now, this feels right.**_

"There are many right ways, and many wrong ways though, aren't there?"

For a brief moment Karla was swept away in one of her strange visions; Zed watched along with her as the indistinct images flickered and whirled. Zed saw himself mixed in with strange shadows he couldn't make out - hazy, imprecise forms. And then suddenly, he was standing tall on a football field in bright sunlight. This was a place he knew. There was a figure on the field with him, but again it was indistinct, not _there_ enough to recognize. The images distorted and disappeared as a million tiny choices rearranged the future again.

"I didn't catch much of that," Zed told her as she stood and they made their way down the stairs.

"Me either. Your future is shifting around so much I can't keep up with any of it. I think, _though_ -" Karla stopped, her mind flicking through a collection of recent visions for Zed. They were all the same; blurry and vague. She shook her head. "I think _something_ is changing, though, your life seems to be at a crossroads."

Zed laughed grimly and gave his mom a brief squeeze of a hug. "You do realize that you sound like a bogus gypsy at a carnival now, right?"

Karla shrugged, sticking her tongue out at him.

"Today's going to be all right though, isn't it?" Zed was suddenly apprehensive. She gave him a push to the front door as Yves called out; "Zed! C'mon, let's go already!"

"I don't see you getting detention today," she assured him, "but you'll be late for music practice." Karla said nothing to explain why, which suggested to Zed that she didn't approve of the reason why he'd be late.

"Thanks mom."

"Go to school," she turned back the way she had just come, her shoulders hunched slightly. "I'll see you later, _try_ to have a good day."

 **00oo00oo00**

There had been numerous moments in her life when Karla had wished she wasn't a Savant. This was rapidly turning into one of them.

Perhaps this was purgatory for her. If she had to atone for her sins eventually, this surely had to count towards the tally in some measure. Her gifts were not something she grew used to; every day seemed more impossibly torturous than the last.

Karla stared at the flashing sign in the window opposite her seat that read 'OPEN' in neon red, stirring her smoothie by the chewed straw absentmindedly, trying to fit patterns into the flashes that weren't there. It was one way to drown out the voices that babbled like the gush of the Eyrie inside her head.

Jesus Christ, she hated cafes.

And restaurants and diners and bars for that matter.

The majority of voices she ignored out of boredom. When it came to the human mind, Karla had heard it all before and then some. Today was no different. All thoughts were consumed by the trivial drama of a new addition the Wrickenridge's small township. It made her want to laugh; it took so little to work them all up. Yesterday, (thanks to her gift), she'd seen Mrs Hoffman proudly present a casserole to the poor, unsuspecting Brights - today it was a montage of greetings and oil paints and school hallways. It seemed there was no escaping it. She'd seen the new faces repeated in thought after thought from every angle. And why? They were so blatantly ordinary and the excitement over their arrival was tiresomely predictable - like flashing a shiny object at a child. Karla wasn't bothered. People came and went from this town every year; what difference would the Brights make?

With a sigh, Karla glanced at her phone. Saul was late.

So she tried harder to tune the thoughts out.

And she thought about Zed instead.

Truth be told, when it came to her youngest son's behavior, Karla was lost. It wasn't easy being a seventh child, and hearing thoughts or seeing visions of the future didn't help. Karla didn't know who had it worse; herself for the added weight of the past, or Zed, for holding everyone's heads together. They had to stick together, she and Zed. They were both freaks among those who were already freaks.

Not that Saul would like her to say that, she reminded herself, twirling a lock of hair around her finger. But it was true. She and Zed had to have each others back, protect each others secrets. But it was hard; Karla and Zed didn't get on, even at that best of times, and it was rare that they were actually friendly- they were too similar, too used to being one step ahead of everyone else.

Someone tripped over a chair leg, dropping their tray with a clatter, making Karla jump. She shook herself. _Get a grip!_

It didn't help.

Today her nerves were stretched tight - like piano wires, tensed to sing at the slightest pressure. Her senses were hyper-alert; Karla scanned every sound, every sight, every movement of the air that touched her skin, every thought - especially the thoughts.

She didn't understand why Saul wanted to meet her for lunch - and in a diner of all places. He knew she wasn't best equipped to deal with the outside world at the best of times. He knew her shields were worse than useless and the lack of filtering between her mind and everyone else's showed. Her gifts would be let loose like starving cobras that had only just escaped a very small cage into a room full of mice. So why her husband wanted to drag her out to a cafe in between Aspen and Denver for lunch, when they could have had lunch was home, was completely beyond her. Maybe he was exhausted and wanted her to stay with Loretta for a while. Shielding your own mind was one thing, but having to barricade your wife's at the same time or risk full exposure every time they went to the supermarket was another.

She risked another glance at the time, sighed heavily and stood from the table. She'd waited long enough. Perhaps, she hoped, Saul had forgotten that he'd agreed to meet his wife at the diner for lunch. And if that was the case, there was no way she'd text him and risk reminding him. Karla tapped her nails against her phone, enjoying the click-click sound they made.

Decisions, decisions…

Much to Karla's annoyance, her phone buzzed.

 **Sorry - going to be late. Don't run; I know you're considering it. Take a breath, I'll be there in five. Love you.**

Karla scowled at the message, and then sat back in her seat with a huff. Damn Saul for knowing her too well.

A few minutes later, the bell above the door tinkled, and Karla glanced up as a familiar mind reached hers; Saul had arrived.

She locked the screen and slid her phone into her handbag. As Saul took his seat opposite Karla, the annoyed feeling melted away inside her. He smiled at her, reaching for her hands and taking them in his. As he kissed her knuckles, he apologized for his lateness.

 _I'm sorry I kept you waiting._

 _You're worth the wait,_ was her reply.

He looked good today, Karla decided, in his old faded jeans and a loose gray polo shirt, decorated with the Wrickenridge Outdoors Center logo. His long hair was still damp from leading a rafting group earlier that morning and his eyes, which were blue today, twinkled back at her like stars. She felt breathless just looking at him.

Saul indicated her smoothie. "Did you eat already?"

"No," she replied, smiling. "The waiter kept asking me if I wanted anything and it was getting awkward. I don't think he believed me when I told him I was waiting for my husband."

He laughed, and stood from the table. "I'll go get some food - do you know what you want, sweetheart?"

Karla's heart fluttered at his use of _sweetheart_ and she almost gave a sigh of relief. She could usually figure out how dire a situation was from which term of endearment Saul used for her. He usually switched back and forth between _darling_ and _sweetheart_ _; b_ _aby_ was reserved for when he was truly worried.

She shrugged. "Anything, I'm not really fussy."

Saul snorted and disappeared to join the queue.

… _Fussier than Yves on a bad day - and that's saying something…_

Karla rolled her eyes at Saul's internal commentary and checked her phone as it flashed. It was just Xav. He was on reception duty at the Outdoors Center and they often used the office there as a main base for booking in skiing sessions during the off season.

 **Coachload of kids from LA in December - you in? I'll help?**

She didn't reply straight away. She'd wait for Saul to rejoin her to show him the message - after all he was her boss.

Saul returned to their table with a tray full of food. Karla raised one eyebrow skeptically and he pushed the tray towards her.

"Take whatever you want," her husband encouraged.

Karla picked up an apple and twisted it in her hands, a speculative look on her face.

"I'm curious."

… _what a surprise…_

"Why does Saul Benedict want to take me out for lunch on a Wednesday afternoon?"

Saul sighed. _**Can't a husband treat his wife?**_

"Today's not anything special - our anniversary has passed, it's not our birthdays for couple of weeks. What's the occasion Benedict?"

"I just wanted to talk."

"We can't talk at home?"

"I didn't think you'd want the boys to overhear the kind of conversation we're going to have," Saul cleared his throat and pulled the tray towards him. "Do you mind if-" he indicated the plate of sandwiches.

"Be my guest but the salad is mine." Karla bit into the apple, enjoying the sharp, bitter taste in her mouth. "Are you sending me to Loretta's?"

"No, sweetheart, I'm not." Saul chewed thoughtfully. "You seem relieved."

"The idea of being sent away doesn't exactly fill a girl with confidence." Karla swallowed. "So… what are we going to talk about?"

Saul reached into his pocket and slid a creased business card across the table. Karla picked it up between her fingers.

 **Dr. Josephine Reeves**

 **Savant Therapist & Shielding Expert**

 **045 6734 2784**

"You want me to see a shrink?" Karla muttered, shoving the business card back at her husband. "I'm not crazy, Saul."

"I never said you were, Karla." Saul defended. "I just thought it would help. You keep so many secrets, keep so many visions to yourself - I thought it might help to talk to someone impartial. I thought she could help you with your shields too."

"No."

"Just think about it."

"I said no!" Karla snapped. A few heads turned around to stare at them; Saul frowned at them until they looked away.

Karla stood abruptly. "I'd like to leave."

"You've hardly eaten," Saul protested. His eyes were full of concern and he reached for her hand, twisting her wedding ring straight.

She pulled away. "I'm not hungry." And she wasn't, not anymore. Instead she just felt sick, her stomach churning, heart hammering.

"Okay, fine," Saul said quietly. "We'll leave. Is your car here?"

She shook her head. "Xav dropped me."

"All right, darling, I'll take you home." Saul said quietly, placing his hand on the small of her back and gently pushing her ahead of him.

The air outside the cafe was warm and it soothed the chills running down Karla's spine. Saul, it seemed, had parked as far from the cafe as possible.

"I want to drive," she muttered, hand held out for the keys.

They never arrived in her palm.

Someone walked behind Karla, their mental voice roaring and snarling and all of a sudden Karla was drowning.

… _A toddler's high pitched giggle… wide blue eyes and a mass of curls… a broken vase… sixteen candles… yelling… legs touching the sky as she swung higher and higher… a tumble down a flight of stairs… orange stained skin from an ice lolly… ugly sun hats… three girls dancing… that cute boy she kissed on the train for a dare…_

"Saul," Karla said, as her mind spun out in a thousand different directions. He caught up to her just as her legs folded; she snatched his arm and clung to it like a buoy.

 _Saul, I can't breathe..._

Before she could beg, shields slammed up around her gifts, and for now, they were contained. He wrapped his arm around her waist again, holding Karla upright as he lifted her into the car.

"You're okay, honey," he murmurs gently, "it's okay, it's over."

The door slammed shut. Karla deflated and shriveled up in the seat like a lump of dehydrated fruit, gasping for air and shivering. The driver's side door slammed.

"Karlie?" Saul eased her body into moving, his tender hands turning her to face him. "C'mon, sweetheart, focus on me. That's it." He smiled proudly as she gathered herself together and looked into his eyes. "That's it, deep breaths. Well done."

"I'm sorry," she rasped out, but he wouldn't hear any of it.

 **00oo00oo00**

After their disastrous lunch date, Karla remembered that they had no food in the house. As Saul didn't have his next class until two, he accompanied her to the Thriftway. The supermarket was not far from Wrickenridge, just a few streets south, off the highway. It was nice to be inside the store; it felt normal and Karla fell into the repetitive task gladly.

When they got home, Saul helped his wife unload all the groceries, tidying them neatly into the available space.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you," Karla said quietly as she closed the fridge door. Saul finished putting apples in the fruit bowl and smiled at her.

"You don't have to apologize."

"I do. You were only trying to help."

"It was a bad idea."

"I'll think about it."

The couple looked at each other; Saul took her shoulders in his hands and rubbed the top of her arms, soothing her.

"You don't have to. I know you don't think much of therapists."

Karla shrugged. "It's not fair to rely on you so much."

"I don't mind."

"Really? You don't get sick of looking after me?"

"I'm just building up my good Karma," Saul teased. "I have to get back to work. I'll see you later, sweetheart. Have a good afternoon."

He kissed the top of her head and stepped out the door. Karla watched from the kitchen window until she couldn't see his Jeep anymore and wondered how long it would be before her children would be home. Her gifts told her not very long, so she wrapped potatoes in foil and stuck them in the oven to bake, covered a couple of steaks in marinade and balanced them on the top shelf in the fridge.

When she was finished with that, Karla trailed upstairs and pulled her hair out from the ponytail she'd slung it into that morning, ran a brush through the tangled strands and touched up her makeup. She smiled at herself in the mirror; there was no harm in looking good for her husband.

As she pondered watching the latest episode of The Good Wife, her laptop pinged. She had three messages.

"Karla," her sister wrote…

 **Write to me as soon as you get in. Tell me all about that case you and the boys worked over the summer. Is it snowing yet? I miss you so much. I'm almost finished packing for Texas, but I can't find that blue blouse you gave me last Christmas. Tell me where you see me finding it? Kisses, Loretta.**

Karla sighed and moved to the next email. It was sent eight hours after the first. She rolled her eyes at her eldest sister's theatrics.

 **Karla! Why haven't you emailed me yet? What are you waiting for? Loretta.**

The last was from a couple of hours ago.

 **Sister, if I haven't heard from you by six pm today, I'm calling Saul.**

Karla checked the time. She still had a couple of hours, but her sister was well known for jumping the gun.

 **Lorrie,**

 **Calm down. I'm writing now. Don't call Saul.**

 **Karla.**

She sent that and began again.

 **Lorrie,**

 **Everything's great. The case was a breeze, although Xav spent most of it flirting with the officer assigned to it** **. Didn't work out in his favor for one as the officer had a boyfriend who really didn't appreciate Casanova making the moves on his girl.**

 **No snow as of yet, but I'm hoping for an early fall. I'm itching to get out on my skis.**

 **Your blouse is at the dry cleaners - you were supposed to pick it up Friday.**

 **I miss you too. Thanksgiving is too far away - come and see me before then, please. I need your company.**

 **Everything's gone weird and I feel on edge. I don't even know why. Maybe it's just me. I feel tense, my head hurts and the attacks are more frequent.**

 **Maybe I'm going crazy.**

 **I have to go, but I'll write again soon. Don't expect me to reply instantly. Unlike you lawyers, I don't check my emails every five minutes.**

 **Relax. Breathe. Have a good trip. I love you.**

 **Karla.**

Karla did eventually sit down and watch an episode of The Good Wife, and that's what she was doing when Saul came home. She'd lost track of time, and almost fell down the stairs in her haste to take the potatoes out and put the steaks in to broil.

"Karla?" Saul called out from the hall when he heard her on the stairs.

 _ **Who else?**_ She teased.

He stepped out of his boots as she bustled about the kitchen, only stopping when he entered to hug Saul back as he gathered her in his arms, kissing her forehead. As he pulled away, so many details suddenly came into focus. The shape of his lips, the shadow of stubble, the blue of his eyes.

"Welcome home," Karla said with a smile.

He cupped her cheeks and brought her face up to his. "I'm glad to be home." He gave her a short kiss. "You look lovely."

Karla practically beamed at that.

"Your sister called," Saul told her. Karla rolled her eyes, pushing away from her husband. "Something about emails."

"I've already replied," Karla opened a cupboard door and pulled out a chopping board. She looked at Saul. "Can you get me the salad stuff from in there?"

He obliged, opening the fridge and pulling out the veg drawer. "What do you want, honey?"

Karla looked up at him, exasperated. "Come on, Saul, we've been married for almost thirty years. You know what a salad is." Saul stared at her, trying to figure out the right thing to say.

Karla sighed and took the drawer from him and tossed the correct ingredients on the counter as she listed them. "Salad; that's carrots, pepper, lettuce, cucumber, watercress, tomato and spinach. How is that difficult to remember?"

It was Saul's turn to roll his eyes. "What are Newton's three laws of motion?"

"What are what?" Karla rinsed the lettuce under the tap and glanced at her husband momentarily in confusion. He smirked.

 _ **Newton's three laws of motion. C'mon sweetheart, we've been married for almost thirty years. You know what the three laws of motion are.**_

Karla scowled. _**Shove off Saul, I'm not in the mood for science.**_

He laughed and took the lettuce from her hands, placing it on the chopping board. _**First law: an object at rest stays at rest, and an object in motion stays in motion.**_ He caught her hips with his hands and pushed her gently against the kitchen sideboard. _**Second law: the acceleration of an object-**_

"Truce." Karla held up her hands in surrender, and then brought them down to rest on his cheeks. "You'll make my head hurt with all that talk of _laws_ and _motion_ and…" she trailed off as his mouth drew closer and closer to hers, until finally, they touched and despite the imminent arrival of their sons, they were kissing.

Karla closed her eyes and the whole world faded.

Of course, it was Xav that interrupted them.

"This is a warning to all parents that may or may not be making out in the kitchen," he called loudly, hand clapped over his eyes as he stumbled into the kitchen, tripping on the door frame. "Could you please halt because your son is about to enter the house and he doesn't want to witness his parents getting up to no good."

Reluctantly, Saul pulled away and Karla looked at their fifth son, eyebrows raised. He still had his eyes covered with his hand. "All right, Xav, we've stopped."

"Thank God," the joker said with a grin. "That could have been seriously traumatizing." He sniffed the air appreciatively. " _Something_ smells good, though. Is that dinner by any chance?"

"Twenty minutes," Karla confirmed. "Lay the table, Xav."

Their fifth son saluted and proceeded to ransack the cutlery drawer.

"You're the worst brother I've got!"

"You sicken me!"

Karla and Saul looked at each other with exasperated eyes.

"I hope you go bald!"

"I hope the Broncos lose!"

"You take that back!" Xav bellowed from the kitchen table.

Yves marched through the hall and into the kitchen. "Zed was late for music practice and he was rude to Sky!"

Zed's rucksack was flew through the air and whacked Yves on the back of his head, knocking his glasses to the floor.

"OW!" Yves yelled.

"Snitch!" Zed shouted.

As Zed walked through the kitchen door, Yves tossed him his rucksack back. The second Zed caught it, there was a loud bang and sparks started to emit from the bag.

"Boys!" Saul called out warningly.

"How was school?" Karla called out to her youngest son.

"Same old, same old," Zed replied, slipping his rucksack over his shoulder and disappearing up the stairs. "All the teachers still hate me and the lessons are crap," he called over his shoulder.

"Mom…" Yves said slowly.

"Not now, Yves."

"But you said you'd help, we need to start _now_ , we need to make lists and plan visits and narrow down courses and-"

"I agreed to help you find a college, Yves, not end third world suffering." Karla ran the knife along the cucumber, slicing it so quickly Saul's heart rate sped up. "We can start after dinner."

"But-"

" _After_ dinner, Yves. Go and wash your hands."

Yves paused by the door into the rest of the house. "What's for dinner?" he asked warily. Last night, against Karla's better judgment, she had allowed Xav to cook dinner for the family. It had been a complete disaster.

"Steak and potatoes," she answered, amused when he looked relieved. Saul didn't leave the kitchen, simply sat at the island and watched his wife finish the salad while the steaks cooked, knowing he was more of a hindrance than a help.

 **00oo00oo00**

Only a few voices did Karla try to block out of courtesy rather than distaste; her family's - all seven of her sons and her husband, who were so used to the lack of privacy in her presence that they rarely gave it a thought. Still, she tried to give them what privacy she could. She tried not to listen if she could help it.

Try as she may, still… she knew.

Yves was thinking, as usual, about school. He'd heard of his friend Rohan's college choices, and was now mulling over his own options again.

Xav was fuming over a bet he'd lost to Zed the previous night, though why he bothered betting against a psychic, Karla would never know. The fight had resulted in a broken vase and Xav on washing up duty for the rest of the week.

Karla never really felt intrusive hearing Xav's thoughts, because he never thought one thing that he would not say aloud or put into action.

Perhaps Karla only felt guilty reading everyone else's mind because she knew there were things inside their heads that they wouldn't want her to know.

She tried her hardest not to read Zed's mind. He loathed his mother's ability to see straight through his shields and always thought she was doing it deliberately.

It was Xav that broke the comfortable silence they'd been eating in.

"So what's she like then?"

"Who?"

"The new girl - Sophie or Sasha or something - what's she like?"

"Sky," both Karla and Yves chorused.

"Think of Marilyn Monroe playing the piano as well as Oscar Peterson," Yves continued. "She bumped Mr Keneally from the jazz band."

"Bet he was thrilled," Xav commented.

Karla pointed her fork at Zed. "You're awfully quiet. What do you think of Sky?"

Zed shrugged. "I guess she's okay."

"She's really nice," Yves countered, "and shy. But she's become friends with Nelson Hoffman."

"It looked more like he picked her and she didn't know how to tell him to shove off." Zed snorted with laughter and Karla frowned.

"Nelson's a nice boy," she said quietly. "You could take some lessons from him."

Her youngest son rolled his eyes. "I think I'm good. Besides, he's constantly under Mrs Hoffman's thumb."

"Everyone in this town is under Mrs Hoffman's thumb," Xav laughed.

Yves disagreed. "Mom isn't."

"And on that note," Karla said, standing from her seat and gathering everyone's plates, " _Mom_ is going to clear the table. Zed, can you wash up please?"

Zed gave a yell as Xav stuck his foot out and tripped his brother. Saul and Yves laughed and Karla smiled, watching her family from the doorway. Shaking her head, she turned and continued toward the sink.

Maybe her visions were more positive than she had previously thought. Maybe, for the first time in a long while, things were looking up…


	2. Chapter 2

N: Aw guys, you're so sweet!Thank you all so much for the lovely reviews and the follows, they made me so happy. You guys are so wonderful :) I'm still undecided on whether it will be a separate story for each book or one long continuous one, but for now this is just Finding Sky. Well, here's the second chapter for you. Sorry it's been so long. I am trying to sort out an update schedule, but until then they might be a bit sporadic, sorry. Also, there was some confusion about a chapter being uploaded yesterday. Sorry about that - my fault - but I don't know what happened always I hope you enjoy the chapter and please keep reviewing and reading. Xoxo

Disclaimer - I don't own anything. All rights to Joss Stirling.

 **Chapter Two**

Karla was sleeping peacefully when Saul climbed the stairs to their bedroom in the early hours of the morning. He thought about Zed's vision as he pushed open the door, wondering if it would be best to let his wife sleep, or to wake her to talk to her about it. As he crossed the room, he decided against waking her, reminding himself that Karla was notoriously moody when she hadn't had a full night's sleep and an irritable wife was not someone he wanted to spend the day with, no matter how much their soulfinder bond told him otherwise.

Saul could tell by the way her hair lay smooth across the pillow that she'd had a less restless night than him. She had her hands folded under her cheek like a small child, and her mouth was slightly open. He could hear her breath moving slowly in and out between her lips.

He knelt in front of her, and lightly brushed his finger across her cheek. It was an amazing relief to be in the same room as his soulfinder, even if she was asleep. Saul was never truly at ease unless that was the case. Nothing was right when he was away from Karla. He always felt… anxious, if that was the right word for it. He never told her, but he could always sense that she was in danger, like something or someone was standing behind her, just waiting to pounce. She was never truly safe unless she was by his side. He chuckled quietly; he sounded silly now - but maybe that was just the bond talking again. Either way, he was daft.

Saul changed into a pair of old sweatpants and a t-shirt, before sitting cross legged on the bed. His eyes ran over Karla's face over and over again, examining it for changes. People changed all the time - he was sad at the thought of missing anything to do with his soulfinder. He decided she looked… tired. Like she hadn't been getting enough sleep lately. He wondered how much that had to do with Zed, and how much it had to do with him.

Her lips looked so soft and warm. He could imagine pressing hundreds of kisses to them, just lightly…

One of her hands twitched, and he noticed that there were shallow, barely healed scrapes across the heel of her palm. She'd been hurt? Even though it was obviously not a serious injury, it still worried him. He didn't like the idea of Karla getting hurt, not even slightly. Saul considered the location and decided she must have tripped.

Saul smiled gently as he brushed a curl away from her cheek. He wondered if she had had a pleasant day, and almost wished she was awake to tell him all about it. Today had been one of those days where they'd barely seen each other, both working at different times and after work Karla had driven to Denver with Yves for his yearly optician appointment. She'd got back late, had spent an hour looking at colleges with Yves and had gone to bed early, not even bothering with dinner. He wondered if she'd thought of him at all, if she'd missed him the tiniest portion he'd missed her.

Something flickered in the back of his mind, at first subtle, and then a sharp jab. _Danger._ He turned his head, trying to figure where it was coming from. The sensation increased when he looked towards the en suite. He shook his head. Maybe he was more tired than he thought. That was it. He was tired and that was making his gifts act funny.

He looked at the door to the bathroom again. It was slightly ajar, nothing but darkness behind it. Like before, his sense for danger spiked, another sharp jab. _Well_ , he thought, _I suppose one look wouldn't hurt. Just to be sure…_

Carefully, so as not to disturb Karla, Saul eased off the bed and slowly crossed the room to the bathroom. He glanced behind him, Karla was sound asleep, and then back to the door. He pushed it open further, wincing at the creak and blinked as his eyes adjusted to the darkness inside. Nothing. He bit back a laugh - of course it was nothing. He was tired. That was all.

"Saul?"

He spun on his heel. "Hey, honey. I'm sorry, did I wake you?"

"What are you looking at?" Karla sat up, leaning on her elbows. Her long dark hair fell in tangled curls around her shoulders and she stared at him with wide eyes.

"Nothing, darling." He closed the bathroom door and returned to the bed, pulling Karla into his arms and leaning back against the pillows. "I'm just tired, thought I could sense something. I was wrong. Don't worry, okay."

She nodded, looking up at him and smiling. " _Just_ tired?" she whispered. "You've been working too hard."

Saul smiled and pressed his lips against her forehead, brushing it lightly. Her eyelids fluttered again, and she moved to rest against him, pressing herself close, her head on his shoulder.

"Guess I'm not the only one tired, hmm?" Saul eased Karla onto her side of the bed and tucked the blankets around her. Karla caught his hands, stopped them in their tracks. Her fingers danced along his wrists, skipped his forearms and trailed to his shoulders. Saul chuckled, gently took her hips in his hands and pulled her slightly closer. He buried his face in the crook of her shoulder, at first inhaling the scent of her soap and then pressing kiss after kiss to the smooth skin. Karla sighed blissfully, tilting her neck and then gasped as Saul bit down firmly.

He kissed the spot tenderly, soothing the sting. Then his kissed her cheeks and her nose and her forehead and her lips - he kissed them again and again and again until he stopped and looked his wife in the eyes.

It felt like he was on fire, every inch of his body burned and stung. Karla smiled up at him, and tugged at his shirt. He chuckled, knowing exactly what she wanted, and pulled it off in one motion, and then tossed it aside and leaned back on his elbows. Her fingers found his stomach, stroking the ridges his muscles had formed in his skin. Saul watched with a lazy smile as she pushed her fingers up through his chest hair, and back down again.

Karla sighed again, and looked up at him, with eyes that seemed so in love, they could have killed him with their intensity.

"Okay," he said quietly, "now what?"

Karla reached up and pulled his mouth down to hers.

 **00oo00oo00**

 _Zed had a vision about that new girl at school,_ Saul whispered into the darkness. Karla shifted at his side, raising herself to look up at him. _He thinks she's going to be attacked._ His eyes fell on her. _Have you seen anything?_

Karla laid back on the sheets, leaving one hand on his chest, not willing to severe the physical connection between them just yet. She stared up at the ceiling.

 _No,_ she replied, also whispering. _But perhaps the decision has not yet been made. Zed might have only seen what would happen if the decision was made._

Saul shifted onto his side to continue looking at his wife. Her face fluctuated for a few seconds, aware then blank again, as she searched the future. _Anything?_

She shook her head. _The decision hasn't been made._

 _Zed asked if you would keep a look out. He's going to keep an eye on her, but he can't control his sight the way you can._

 _I'll see what I can do._

Saul took her hand in his and stroked the inside of her wrist. _And how are you, my darling? I've not seen you all day._

 _I'm fine. Yves needs new glasses, though._

Saul rolled his eyes. _He spends too much time looking at that damn computer. He'll have more glasses than brain cells if he's not careful._

Karla rolled onto her side to face her husband, and kissed the side of his mouth softly. Saul grinned as she pulled away, reaching up to brush a long ringlet away from her cheek.

 _I'm going to April's and the hairdressers tomorrow. I might be late for work._

 _Your boss won't like that._

 _Then it's a good thing I know how to get on his good side and convince him not to fire me._

 _Yeah, it is._

Karla giggled and hugged her husband tightly. "I'm so glad you're my boss."

Saul sat up slightly, pulling her legs over his lap so she could remain close to him. "Because you get away with everything?"

Karla yawned, curling up against him. "Got it in one."

"You're tired, go to sleep darling."

"Mmm…." Karla closed her eyes, and, more tired than she realized, drifted to sleep in her husband's arms.

 **00oo00oo00**

The following morning Karla let herself into April Monroe's house at a quarter to eleven. Her hair was freshly washed and blow-dried, fresh layers cut into the soft curls; she hoped Saul would like it, especially as she'd had some red tints put in her hair, something she'd never done before. it had been a risk, because Saul hadn't exactly liked it the first time she'd had different colors put in her hair, but this time she felt good about her decision.

She had called out her best friend's name several times whilst she cleaned up the remains of what looked like a severe-burglary-turned-college-house-party; there was a broken vase in the living room, and the kitchen counters were littered with empty wine bottles and glasses. However, after thirty minutes of no response, Karla gave up trying to rouse her friend, and instead poured herself a strong coffee and tried to block the annoying, blaring alarm that came from April's bedroom.

April, Karla and Nancy (the remaining third that made up their friendship group) had been best friends for years. They'd met in their junior year of high school, when Karla had first started at Wrickenridge High School, and had quickly become inseparable after they'd found Karla smoking in the girl's bathroom. Between the three of them they'd attended more detentions than registrations and had graduated with nothing but tales of drunken debauchery, leaving behind a trail of broken hearts and the staff waving them off with a banner and balloons.

It is needless to say that things had gone slightly downhill since then. Karla had embraced marriage, motherhood and all things adult, while April and Nancy carried on partying without her. A few years back, April had been admitted to a rehabilitation centre in Aspen, after Karla had found her comatose on the bathroom floor, and had only been released at the beginning of the year. In order to keep both her friends alive, she had taken it upon herself to make sure that the right medication was taken, they both went to work and didn't drink themselves to death, as it had become rapidly clear that neither were capable of either of those tasks.

This, Karla realised, glancing around April's apartment, was what life without a soulfinder was like, what it turned you into.

Oh yes, April and Nancy were savants too.

Thirty minutes after Karla's arrival, the alarm stopped blaring and the apartment was filled with the sounds of April waking up.

" _Thank you_!" Karla called out. "It's almost twelve, April, I've cleaned up your mess!"

Her friend swanned into the kitchen half an hour later, wrapped in a bright blue and yellow silk dressing gown. Ignoring Karla, April stumbled around the table where she sat, and began looking for the fridge, chanting "happy, happy, happy," as she opened cupboards and doors.

Karla glanced up. "That's the washing machine."

April slammed the door shut and turned to Karla. "Absolutely right, sweetie."

They never called her Karla. She was always _darling_ or _sweetie_ , when they were feeling nice. And when they weren't, well… that was another story.

"Feeling good, this morning, I expect, aren't you?" Karla looked pointedly at the numerous wine bottles clustered at the edge of the worktop.

"Fabulous darling, fabulous…" April reluctantly followed her gaze. "Oh, God! Nancy can put it away, can't she?" Karla raised her eyebrows, clearly not fooled. April huffed. "Stop looking at me like that, sweetie. I mean what do I have to do to convince you I've given up drinking..?"

 _Actually give up?_ Karla thought to herself.

"...Oh, all right, I had one damn drink, darling. _One_!" April glared at Karla for a moment. "Are you accusing me of something?"

"I don't have to." Karla sighed heavily. "April, it's obvious you're still drinking. What am I supposed to tell the Net? I'm supposed to be looking after you." April sat slowly in a chair next to Karla, and swayed, before righting herself and shaking her head.

"I don't want looking after." She muttered. "I want to be left alone."

Karla slid a plate towards her friend. "Here, eat." April eyed the toast suspiciously, before picking up a slice and nibbling slowly.

And then, "make me a coffee sweetie."

"You knew where it is, make one yourself." Karla moved to the sink to wash her mug up. "Coffee, toast, shower, dressed. I've left your tablets by the sink. Pull yourself together. You're supposed to be at the office, and your car has been waiting outside since ten."

"Sweetie, make me a coffee. You're so clever and you know where everything is. I think it's wonderful how you know where everything is, and this isn't even your apartment. You are wonderful, darling."

"Flattery won't turn me into your servant." Karla leaned across the table in front of her friend. "You're still drunk - making your own 'sober-up' kit will do you some good. The coffee is on the table in front of you. Pick up a spoon, put coffee in mug, pour on boiling water."

April stood, scowling as she snatched a mug off the hook and fiddled with a spoon. "Yes, yes, scald hand, get third degree burns, lie here screaming in agony while you swan off to whatever darling Saul has planned for you today." She eyed Karla. "Do you really want that on your conscience this morning?"

"Bearing in mind I've just subjected Wrickenridge High School to Zed today, I think I've plenty of room for your coffee making." She watched as April juggled with the kettle. She wilted, deciding to make the coffee rather than risk a hospital trip. "All right, I'll do it. Sit down."

The kettle boiled away steadily while Karla spooned coffee into a mug.

"No, no, no, not instant, sweetie! Not instant!" April launched out of her seat and snatched the mug away, swapping it for another one. "Grind some beans for God's sake. Instant coffee is just old beans that have been cremated. I don't want that. I want something entire with life force today!"

Silently fuming, Karla began to grind beans through gritted teeth.

And of course, April had something to say about that. "Could you not pull that face while you grind? I don't really want to drink a cupful of your anger."

Then she changed her mind. "I shouldn't even be drinking coffee. I don't want that coffee, darling. Throw all that coffee away, I don't want any of that coffee. I just wanted some of your weird tea, or something. I don't know."

The telephone rang. "Get that for me would you, sweetie?" April asked.

"I am not your slave!" Karla hissed, as she answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Is it the office? Tell them my car hasn't arrived, there's traffic door to door and I'm not well. I'm not well!"

"No, she's sat here in her dressing gown and she's hung-"

"STOP!" April snatched the phone. "It's just me darling. I know, "dressing gown", she knows nothing about fashion. Anyway, now listen, I am literally out the door. Yes, I am chanting as we speak. All right. Bye, bye, bye." She turned to Karla. "Don't look at me like that, sweetie, you're not into all that chanting and meditation stuff."

"April, you did it for a week. Which admittedly for you is a record." Karla stood, snatching up the plate and coffee mugs, moving to wash them in the sink.

"It's not a fad, darling."

"Oh please stop pretending. All week you've been pushing everyone aside with excuses of meditation and zen yoga, all the while you've been taking shots and preparing for a face lift." Karla straightened herself up. "You're not fooling me."

"Yeah, well, nothing ever gets past you, does it, Karla." April looked at Karla intently. "You're a triple threat to Savants; all knowing, all seeing. Should I curtsy when you enter a room?"

Karla rolled her eyes. "Shove off."

April laughed. "Touchy, touchy. And anyway, I owe a lot to my meditation, darling. I wouldn't have gotten anywhere in life without it."

"What is it, some kind of cosmic cash machine?"

April scowled at Karla. "Could you not be cynical today, darling?"

"Oh for God's sake April-"

"You know, sweetie, today I need a little bit of support."

"It's only a fashion show." Karla said firmly.

"ONLY A FASHION SHOW?"

"You've had six months to prepare it."

" _ONLY_ A FASHION SHOW?"

"Oh come on, April, it's a fashion show for _pre-schoolers._ I mean, why has everything you do got to be so hysterical? All you've got to do is play a bit of music, turn on the stage lights, get some cute kids who don't look like they're wearing everything they've ever eaten and bribe them with Twinkies to walk down a catwalk. Greater feats have been achieved in less time and with less fuss."

"Not quite with it, are you darling?"

"Major motion pictures are made, huge concerts are put on in stadiums." Sensing she wasn't getting her point across, Karla leaned across the table and glared at her friend. "Five hundred thousand troops were mobilized in the Gulf and a war fought and won in less time, and that was without everyone involved having a nervous breakdown and being sent flowers."

"I have not been sent flowers!" April shrieked.

Karla pointed at a bouquet of pink and orange roses in a vase on the windowsill. "Then what are those?"

"Oh, oh, oh," April, now flustered, crossed her arms and pouted.

"It's not that difficult," Karla insisted.

"Darling," April ground out, glowing at the smaller woman. "Every troop in the Gulf didn't have to contain Tanya Jones' precious-pumpkin-pie of a daughter. The generals didn't have to each receive a prize after every maneuver so no one felt left out and the whole operation did not have to be coordinated to Disney's greatest hits! Because, you know, darling, if it had the outcome might have been rather different, wouldn't you agree?" April stood and stalked towards the stairs again. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get dressed."

"Fine," Karla said, standing and slinging her leather jacket over her shoulders. "But I won't be here when you come back."

For a moment, April looked horrified. "But you're coming to the fashion show with me."

Karla snorted. "No I am not."

"Why?" April demanded.

"I'd rather not say." Karla slung her handbag on her shoulder.

"So it involves _Saul_ then."

"Please don't say his name like that."

"You were a fool to marry him, darling. I've never married. Not even in my previous life."

"I suppose you were the Coco Chanel of the Ming Dynasty…"

"Well, as a matter of fact-"

"...So how come you've ended up a mad, fat, old cow?" Karla's temper flared, her patience gone. April gasped.

"Stop saying the word 'fat'." She snapped. "You only say it to annoy me because I'm mean about Saul."

"No, _darling,_ I say it because it's true." Karla spun on her heel and marched towards the front door. April caught her elbow.

"No, no, don't leave. I'm sorry about what I said. I need you to help me get through life, sweetie, you know that. I-"

" _Get through life_?" Karla shook her head, dumbfounded. "April, you've absolved yourself of responsibility. You live from self induced crisis to self induced crisis. Someone does your hair, someone tells you what to wear, someone tells you what to think, and three times a week I come round to check you haven't choked to death on your own vomit!"

"Well thank you so much for your support, sweetie. You know, a lot of friends might have offered to come with me and help, but no, no, no, not you! Saul's probably taking you to lunch or to see the new fall collection at the Saks outlet or something. It doesn't matter, I'll just go on my own."

"Fine," Karla muttered.

"Time of the month, darling?"

"No."

"Hm. Just looked like you were retaining water down here, that's all." Sometimes, April could be cruel.

"I'm leaving," Karla announced.

"Go then, I won't see you later because you don't love me enough. Oh, wait!" April dashed into the utility room and returned clutching an orange dress, with brown stripes on it. It looked like something April's mother had worn… in the seventies.

"What the hell is that?"

"It's designer, sweetie. It's all right, isn't it?" April tugged at the dress. "I mean, it's a little tight, but it's all right. I just can't find anything to go with it, that's all."

"Maybe I could throw up on something for you." Karla suggested, smiling sweetly.

April hung the dress on the door frame and tugged out a vibrant green jacket with pink flowers on it. "I'll wear this one," she announced proudly.

"Oh," Karla said, "I see someone already has." She spun on her heel and wrenched open the door. Behind it was Nancy, swaying on her high heels, hair sticking up on one end. "Morning Nancy, how are we today?"

But Nancy ignored her, pushing past to kiss April on both cheeks. "What's _she_ doing here?" she asked. Karla rolled her eyes.

"Bailing on me to spend the day with _Saul_."

"Ugh, why?"

"God knows."

"Maybe Nancy could go with you to the fashion show," Karla suggested loudly.

"Oh, yes!" April held up the dress and the jacket. "What do you think; it's designer."

"It's fabulous!"

Karla slammed the door behind her and sighed with relief. It felt good to be free.

 **00oo00oo00**

Karla made it to work earlier than Saul expected after her trip to April's, and instead of sitting in the cool dark of their shared office, she perched on one of the picnic benches outside the outdoors center, paperwork piled in front of her. He noticed that she'd touched up her make-up, and that her eyes were wider than normal, slightly swollen and glassy.

She'd been crying.

Saul felt a surge of pity for his wife; she didn't like what was happening to her friends, didn't like the fact she was losing them to something beyond anyone's control. Sometimes, Saul hated the Savant world for making his soulfinder so dreadfully unhappy.

It was as if someone had taken it upon themselves to punish Karla constantly. Saul sighed and moved closer to the window, resting his elbows on the sill. Her hair caught the sun in unexpected ways, giving off a reddish shine he had not noticed before. He wondered if that was what she had had done at the hairdresser's earlier that morning.

Karla stiffened suddenly, so suddenly he didn't notice at first, and when he did, he lurched from his position by the window and ran out to Karla's table, hoping that his afternoon class hadn't yet shown up. The last thing he needed was for Karla - through no fault of her own - to be discovered in the middle of a premonition.

Saul dropped onto the bench beside her and pulled her into his arms, shaking her slightly to try and bring her out of it. "Come on, sweetheart, not today." He frowned, shaking her slightly harder. "Karla, darling, come on. Snap out of it."

Her eyelashes fluttered and then her eyes focused and she looked up at him curiously. "What's going on?"

"Are you okay?" Saul cupped her cheeks and kissed her forehead. "Lost you to the future for a minute there."

"Oh, sorry." Karla smiled up at him. "I'm fine."

"Anything important?"

"No, no, just…" she trailed off and her eyes lost focus again. Saul chuckled, shaking his head and pulled his wife to her feet. He led her back to their office and settled her in her chair. The paperwork could wait. He'd leave his wife to her visions. She'd come out of them when she was ready. He smiled once more at her, before closing the door softly behind him and disappearing to prepare for his rafting class.


	3. Chapter 3

N: Another chapter! Consider this me trying to make it up to you guys. I really am sorry about not updating sooner. Life just got in the way of things, and before I knew it, so much time had gone by. I think I've roughly worked out a timeline for the events in the book, so hopefully it should fit in with the canon. So, in case anyone was wondering, the first chapter took place on Wednesday, when Sky meets Zed and Yves at music practice for the first time. The second chapter took place on Thursday morning/ afternoon as a filler and this chapter is Thursday evening/ the early hours of Friday morning, if that makes sense. Also, to the guest wanting more of Sky and Zed, I hope this quenches your thirst slightly, but I promise Sky will feature in a chapter soon. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter as well and as always, please read and review.

Disclaimer - I don't own anything. All rights to Joss Stirling.

 **Chapter Three**

Karla twirled in front of the mirror and then laughed at her foolishness. She was acting like a teenager going on her first date. Still, she mused as she smoothed out a crease in her dress, the idea of going on a 'date' with Saul had given her butterflies all day. She'd even left her hair curly, rather than straightening it like she usually did, because she knew he liked that better. Karla twirled again. She looked good, she decided.

No… more than good. She looked _good_ in most things. Tonight she'd made an effort, like, more than usual. She even traded in her signature black heels for a pair of slightly higher cream ones. She'd bought them on a whim and then had realized they'd go perfectly well with the navy blue and cream dress she'd had since, forever.

All she had to do now was persuade Saul to wear the only pair of jeans he owned that _didn't_ have car oil on them and put on a nice shirt and their evening out would be perfect. Everything so far had gone to plan; Zed, Xav and Yves had gotten home from school and work when she'd expected them to, their dinner had been cooked to perfection, she'd showered and not cut her leg while shaving in record time, her eyeliner matched on either eye and Saul would be home in time for them to make their seven thirty reservation at _Zizzi's_.

Her stomach did another back flip. She felt silly being this excited for something as simple as dinner out, but it didn't happen very often.

She shouldn't have, but she glanced at the clock sat on the bedside table on Saul's side of the bed. He'd be home any minute now. Any minute… _now_.

Fifty seven… fifty eight… fifty nine… five o'clock.

Karla's breath hitched and she waited for the click of the door, the "Honey? I'm home!", the thud of his footsteps on the stairs and the bone crushing hug that always followed.

She had a few seconds before he arrived anyway. She could slip into the bathroom, pretend to be doing her make-up and waltz out to make Saul look twice. Karla shivered in delight at _that_.

Twenty minutes later, and Karla was perched on the edge of the bed, heels kicked off to one side, tossing her phone from one hand to the other. Should she call him? He wasn't late exactly, but he was always home by five… and it was only thirty minutes - not even that, she was only rounding up. No, she resolved, she was not one of those wives that needed to know where her husband was at all times. She would be reasonable. Saul could be late home if he wanted to.

But what if he was hurt or his class had gone wrong and he'd turned into a human pretzel around a rock. Oh, God, what if he was drowning or something and she was debating calling him because she was afraid of him thinking she was needy.

She'd call him, and just ask nicely, without sounding annoyed, what time he was likely to be home. She would be calm and sweet and understanding.

As usual, Saul answered on the first ring. "Hey, honey."

"Where are you?"

There went the plan.

Saul didn't answer for a long moment. "Denver, I've been in Denver all afternoon."

"Why are you in Denver?" Her heart gave a double thud. "Are the boys okay? Are _you_ okay? What's happened?"

"Nothing, nothing, I'm fine, the boys are fine. There was a shooting this afternoon, and Vick called me to see if I could give him a hand with it."

"Oh, right." Karla didn't know what to say to that. She'd called Victor earlier when she'd had a vision of a shooting earlier, but he hadn't answered so she'd left a message. She wondered if that was what Victor was investigating now. "Only I wondered what time you'd be home."

"Well, I'm actually leaving now-"

"Oh, that's great, we can still make our reservation if-"

"-To pick up Zed and Yves, Victor wants them to help."

"-If you get home soon…" Karla trailed off.

"Reservation?" Then Saul realized. "Oh, crap, sweetheart. I'm sorry."

"You forgot?" Karla shook her head. "Doesn't matter, if you get back asap we can still make it."

"Ah, Victor still needs me to help."

"But we're going out for dinner, right?"

Saul groaned, and Karla heard the car door slam. "I'm sorry, honey. Can we say another time?"

Karla wanted to say no. She wanted to insist that they go out for dinner. She sighed. "Fine. Don't worry. I'll see you later."

She ended the call, tossed the phone on the floor and fell back on the bed, closing her eyes.

 **00oo00oo00**

Saul hesitated for a second, and then moved fully into the kitchen.

"Karla?" Saul said, unable to stop himself. His willpower lay in shreds.

She hesitated before looking up at her husband; when she turned, her expression was guarded, annoyed.

She waited for him to continue, eyebrows raised. Then she sighed.

"What?" Karla finally said. "Are you canceling your crime solving session with Victor to take me out for dinner, _like you said you would?_ "

There was an edge of resentment to her tone that was, like her anger, endearing. It made Saul want to smile.

"No, not really," he told her.

She closed her eyes and took a long, slow breath. Her jaw was locked. "Then what do you want Saul?"

The sound of his name on her lips did strange things to his body. His heartbeat quickened, and goosebumps flickered across his skin.

"I'm sorry," he told her. That was truer than she would ever know - he hated upsetting her. "I've ruined your evening. You look beautiful - no, more than that, stunning. I am an idiot and a fool and I don't deserve you."

Karla's eyes opened, their expression wary. "Get to the point, darling."

Saul stepped right behind her, gingerly placing his hands on her shoulders and squeezing gently. She relaxed under his touch, even turning in his arms to look up at him. Sensing that this was a good approach, he slowly cupped her cheeks, running the pad of his thumb under her jaw. He pressed a firm kiss to her mouth.

"Vick called… again. He- um, well, he needs some more help. It seems myself, Trace, Uri and Will aren't good enough." Saul tried to convey as much of what their son wanted in as short sentences as possible, hoping she'd catch on; he didn't want anymore jewelry thrown at him.

"And?"

"And… he'd like you, Zed, Xav and Yves to come with us and help."

"You seriously think I'm in the mood?"

"Well- no, no, clearly you are upset and angry, but really-"

"You and Victor seriously think I'm just going to skip along and play CSI with you?"

"Karla, please."

She jerked her face away, gritting her teeth again. Her cheeks were flushed with anger. She slammed her magazines together in a pile, yanked them up in her arms, and marched towards the rest of the house without giving Saul a second glance.

She walked stiffly, without looking where she was going, and her foot caught on the lip of the doorway. She stumbled, and her things all crashed to the ground. Instead of bending to get them, Karla stood rigidly straight, not even looking down, as if she were not sure her things were worth retrieving. Saul moved quickly to her side and had her books gathered in order before she'd looked down.

Karla bent halfway, saw Saul and froze. He handed the magazines to her.

"Thanks," she said coldly, wrenching herself upright and storming away up the stairs.

 **00oo00oo00**

Karla was sat on the porch, waiting for Victor, when he pulled into the drive, stopping in front of the house rather than heading for the garage.

"Your father's in the study," she told him before he could ask.

"Thanks," he said, kissing her cheek as he sat down next to her. "But I'm actually here to see you."

Her face fell. "Oh, I thought as much."

"Then why..?"

"I had hoped my bluntness would act as a deterrent." She sighed, and moodily picked at the sleeve of her jumper. "It appears I was wrong."

"Indeed it does."

 _Thank you for calling me back,_ Karla thought sarcastically.

"Oh," Victor reached into his pocket, pulling out his phone and unlocking it. "Sorry, I didn't even bother to look at who it was. I was busy, you know, work."

"Yeah, I know. I'm sorry too. By the time I saw what was going to happen, it was too late." She shook her head and gave her third eldest son a tired smile. She'd caught the vision of the shooting seconds before it had happened, making her call to Victor worthless, but hey, she'd tried, right?

"I need your help tonight, mom."

"Did your father call you by any chance?" She stared up at him, eyes narrowed. "We're supposed to be going out for dinner."

"I'm sorry I ruined your evening."

"I don't know what you want _me_ there for." Then Karla caught the direction of her son's thoughts, and laughed bitterly. "Right, I see, Zed's slipping, and you're hoping this might be a push in the right direction, but you want me there to babysit just in case he flips and starts tossing chairs around with his mind."

"Well, I wasn't going to put it like that, mom…" Victor sighed. "Look, you can see what's going on in Zed's head better than any of us. You get him, you're on the same level-"

"Freaks among those that are already freaks," Karla muttered.

Victor frowned. "I wish you'd stop saying that."

"Why? It's true." Karla scuffed the edge of her shoe in the dirt.

"It's not true. Dad said you might take some convincing."

"Been talking about me, have you?" Her eyes filled with tears, but she blinked them away furiously. "Saving the world is your thing, not mine."

"Well," her son conceded, "I _guess_ this all could have been avoided if you'd seen in time. It is a shame, I had a date too."

 _Sorry_ , she murmured, ashamed with herself now.

"No, I'm sorry." Victor hugged his mom tightly. "I know you can't catch everything. No one expects you to be omniscient, mom." Karla's expression did not change, so he changed tack. "It's your birthday in a few weeks. I bought your present before I got called on this case. Did you catch that before your vision?"

Karla grinned. "No, I missed that one. Wish I did know. I know what Will's got me and it's hideous."

"Ouch." He chuckled, holding out a hand to help his mother up. "What made you miss it?"

"Saul keeps thinking about my birthday too," she laughed, "he keeps trying not to make a decision, but I think I've got a pretty good idea."

"You're shameless."

"Yep, but you all love me." Karla ushered her son through the door. "Alright, I'll come. Let's get this over and done with."

 **00oo00oo00**

Zed was… suffering.

Karla suppressed a sigh.

 _Karla._ Saul called her name and had her attention at once. It was just the same as having her name called aloud. She was glad her name was not so popular now - it had been annoying that anytime someone thought of any Karla, her head would turn automatically.

Her head did not turn now. She and Saul were good at these private conversations. It was rare that anyone caught them. Karla kept her eyes on the clock above the doorway.

 _How is he holding up?_ Saul asked her.

Karla's eyes flicked to their youngest son, who was scowling at the floor, ignoring the card game the rest of his brothers were playing around him. She frowned, trying not to tip the others off. If it did, they would all demand to be included, and Zed would be angry his parents were discussing him again.

Saul's mental tone lowered in concern, and Karla saw in his mind that he was using his gifts to wager the chances of Zed exploding before they were allowed home. Karla searched ahead into the immediate future, skimming through visions of monotony to share the source behind her frown with her husband.

 _Can you see anything happening?_

Zed was tense, irritated with waiting around for so long, but that was all. Karla turned her head slowly to the left, as if she was looking at the various posters on the noticeboards, sighed and then looked to the right, back to the clock on the wall. Only Saul knew she was shaking her head. Her husband relaxed.

 _Let me know if things get too bad._

 _Sure._ Her reply was short, and Karla knew it had stung. But she was still annoyed, and Saul had to know it.

 _Thank you for coming with us tonight._

 _It wasn't like I had a choice. My dinner plans got ruined._ What was she supposed to say? My pleasure? It was hardly that.

 _I said I was sorry. I promise I'll make it up to you._ He paused. _I'll keep an eye on Zed, sweetheart, give your mind a rest._

Despite her irritation, Karla was grateful. She didn't enjoy listening to Zed's struggles. Was it really necessary to experiment like this? Wouldn't the safer path be to just admit that he might never be able to control his temper the way his older brothers could, and work from there? Why flirt with disaster?

But as Saul often reminded her, Zed behaved a lot like she had when she was his age. Finding Saul, her soulfinder, the love of her life, had calmed her down, given her more balance. But they had been lucky, a soulseeker had sent Saul after her; Zed had to go for that side of Savant life alone.

It had been two weeks since Zed's last outburst. Between then and now, home life had not been particularly difficult - a little uncomfortable occasionally when snide remarks and jokes went too far. But Saul had been wonderful, quick to diffuse tension and solve arguments before they'd really begun. She sighed, and reached out to poke his knee. He glanced at her, smiled slightly and moved his hand to cover hers. She smiled back at him and decided, in that moment, she'd be better to him, kinder, sweeter. He deserved that.

Zed's irritation spiked, and Karla's head snapped in his direction.

He was letting his imagination get away with him. Zed was picturing it - picturing himself there, arms outstretched, bullets ricocheting off the walls and blood dripping into dark red pools. The thoughts took a sharp turn; imagining him turning the gun on himself. The loss of senses. The numbing feelings and calm that went along with death…

Karla kicked his chair.

He met his mother's gaze for a moment, and then looked down. Karla could hear anger and shame war in his head.

"Sorry," he muttered.

Saul placed a comforting hand on his son's shoulder.

"You're not going to go that way, Zed." Karla murmured to him, soothing his shame. "You're going to be fine; I can see that." She placed her hand on his arm gently. "Maybe some rest would help. You could sleep in the car, no one will think any less of you." Her voice was too quiet for any of the other Benedict to hear, but Zed still jerked his arm away from her touch.

"I'm not tired," he said curtly. He turned in his chair to glare at the posters on the noticeboards, tone ending the conversation.

Karla sighed silently, and stood, chair scraping along the lino. The rest of her sons turned to look at her. "I think I feel a migraine coming on, so I'm just gonna take a quick break." She picked up her bag and slung it on her shoulder. She knew when Zed had had enough of her encouragement. It didn't take long for Saul's chair to scrape back, and for him to follow after her, murmuring an excuse to Victor en route to the exit.

 **00oo00oo00**

Saul found his wife in the police station parking lot, leaning back against the railing that followed the shape of the ramp. She glared at him, eyes dark and angry, mouth pouting. A cigarette dangled in her fingers and a cool breeze pushed her long curls behind her shoulder. Karla was tensed, cat-like, poised, ready to spring at any moment.

"You know," he said, close enough to touch her, "you never fail to take my breath away. You look so damn beautiful tonight."

"I'm not in the mood for flattery, Saul." she said coolly, turning around and staring out at the main road, lights filtering around her in an angelic glow. "Why did you even bother following me?"

"To see if you were okay."

Karla sniffed. "Maybe I wanted to be alone."

"You know, I learned long before I married that that was never a good thing." Saul squeezed her shoulders softly, aware of the fragility of her bones beneath her jacket. Her shoulders relaxed slightly, and she took a long drag of her cigarette, hand trembling.

"Don't be mad at me, darling," Saul murmured, thumbs drawing circles on her neck. "I'll take you out shopping tomorrow, we can go to the jewelry store and you can pick out something pretty. And I'll throw in dinner, _if_ you stamp that damn cigarette out."

Karla stared up at him, eyebrows raised, and took another long drag. "Can we look at shoes too?"

Saul groaned, trying hard to look disapproving; he loved that Karla was a constant challenge for him - not that he'd admit it.

"Oh, fine. Darling, it'll kill you, you know it will." He gave a short laugh and cupped her cheeks, pulling her close. "Go on, do it for me, sweetheart. Go on."

Karla smiled sweetly, held her finger up and took what Saul hoped was her last drag. Usually he looked away, but this time he watched as her lips puckered around the cigarette, as her eyes closed when she breathed in and then as they fluttered open again, her cherry red lipstick leaving marks on the white paper. The smoke was silver in the darkness, like she was creating cobwebs out of her own breath. For a moment it looked beautiful.

 _Mom? Dad? Vick sent me out looking for you. Where are you guys?_

That was Xav. Karla flung the cigarette away from her as fast as possible, exploding into a coughing fit as she sprayed herself down with her perfume, one that smelt strongly of peaches. It was sickly sweet and clung to her the same way the smoke did. Saul caught his wife's arms and held her still. Sometimes Karla moved so fast, she made him dizzy.

"Sweetheart-" she tried to shove him off her, but he held on. "Hey- whoa, slow down, sweetheart. It's okay, he's still inside. Just breathe for a moment."

"He can't know, I don't want him to know." Karla was on her way to entering full panic mode. "I don't want Xav to know, I don't want any of them to know."

And that was one of the reasons why Saul loved Karla so much. She was an incredible mother and was fiercely protective of their children. Somewhere in Karla's head, she'd built up a vision of the most perfect, most wonderful, mother of all mothers a child could have, and spent most of her waking moments holding herself up to that image. She even had rules, one of them being that she'd never, ever smoke in front of her children. She tried so damn hard to be perfect all the time for them; homemade dinners every night, lifts whenever they needed them and God forbid the boys ever had a project due, because Saul knew full well that she'd have planned it, designed it and scheduled it three night before the assignment was brought home.

"It's okay, no one knows except you and me." Saul cupped her cheeks again, kissing her forehead. "And they aren't going to know. They're not going to find out."

"Promise?"

He didn't answer, hands trailing down her arms to her waist. It seemed, she realized, as he stepped closer, so that their bodies were almost touching, that she'd forgotten (while annoyed with Saul) just how good looking he was. Now, tilting her head back fully to look at him, she took in his features, and delighted in how they made her insides tingle. His sharp cheekbones, the thickness of his dark hair, his eyes, that no matter how she looked at them, were always the color of the ocean; blue, green and gray all at once.

She sighed softly, letting her hands rest at the bottom of his stomach, before indulging herself and brushing them further up his chest, the tips of her fingers dipping in each muscle ridge; by the time she'd reached his neck, his eyes were closed, a soft, rarely seen smile tugging the corners of his mouth.

"Saul," she breathed, and his eyes slowly opened.

"Yeah?" The word rumbled from deep inside his chest, and her voice caught in her throat. Their faces were so close now, lips inches away from each other. She could count the crinkles around his eyes, and measure the slight gap between his teeth.

"Nothing."

They would have kissed them, if it hadn't have been for the clearing of a throat behind them. They turned their heads. Xav grinned sheepishly. Biting back an exasperated laugh, Karla let her head fall onto Saul's chest.

"Um, Vick needs you guys back in the hall."

"We'll be there in a minute," Saul said, his hands still at his wife's waist.

"He, uh, says now," Xav replied, leaning on the door.

"Go back inside, Xav," Karla raised her head finally, smiling at her son, amused. She turned her attentions back to her husband, and stretched up in her heels, so that their mouths were barely touching. But something held them back; neither could shake the feeling that they weren't alone in the parking lot.

Saul looked back to the door, where Xav was hovering, mouth parted in slight confusion. He sighed. "Are you really going to stand there and watch while I kiss your mom?"

Xav almost tripped over his own feet in his haste to explain himself. "No, no, I just wasn't sure if you- uh- were gonna- um-"

"Xavier," Karla called warningly.

"Shutting up," their son said, darting through the door towards his brothers. Saul and Karla both laughed briefly, before turning back to each other. Saul moved one hand to brush against the side of her face, fingers easing her chin upward.

"So," he murmured, "where were we?"

"I do believe, Mr Benedict," Karla whispered, fluttering her eyelashes, heart skipping a beat. "That you were about to kiss me."

He smiled, and lowered his mouth to hers. "I'll agree to that."

Their lips had barely touched when the door banged open again. This time it was Victor. "Mom, Dad, I need you in the hall now."

"Really? We're kind of busy, Vick." Karla snapped, frustrated. Couldn't she be left, even for a few moments, to kiss her husband?

Saul sighed, pressed a kiss to the top of Karla's head and moved away reluctantly, holding out his hand. She took it, and allowed him to pull her along after Victor.

 _To be continued,_ he promised.

 _I'll hold you to that,_ was her reply.


	4. Chapter 4

N: I'm sorry. I don't even have an excuse; I just fell out of writing for a bit. But I've worked a bit more on some chapters and now I have stable hours at work, updates should hopefully be more regular. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday, I certainly did. Really sad to hear about Carrie Fisher, she was a true icon to me and I will really miss her presence. As always, I hope you enjoy this chapter, please drop a review if you feel like it and have a wonderful New Year. Xoxo

Disclaimer - I don't own anything. All rights to Joss Stirling.

 **Chapter Four**

Karla, Saul, Zed, Xav and Yves finally made it home at almost two in the morning, but just a couple of hours later, the phone rang. For a long while they ignored it, letting it ring loudly and relentlessly into the night. Eventually, groaning and swearing profusely, Saul answered it. It was Victor; a new witness had come forward and her husband and sons were needed. Her presence had been requested, but Karla had refused and begged Saul to turn Victor down. After much deliberation, Saul had left with their youngest sons, and Karla had returned to bed, moody and tense.

It had taken a long while for her to fall asleep, tossing and turning while her mind conjured up visions of the future, flickering images of people she didn't even know.

After a really terrible vision, Karla gave in and slipped downstairs to the bathroom, where they kept the medicine cabinet. Upon opening, she rummaged through painkillers and cotton pads and her spare Epi-pen, until she found a jar of sleeping pills Dr Reeves had prescribed to her a while ago. She didn't even look at what the dosage was, simply knocked two back with a glass of water, and disappeared back upstairs to bed.

 **00oo00oo00**

Karla gasped, wrenching upright out of her bed, eyes flying open.

The light was still on, and she was sitting fully dressed on the bed with her shoes on. She sat, shivering and half crying, for a few minutes, trying to break free of the vision. She glanced, disorientated, at the clock on Saul's bedside table.

It was five-thirty in the morning.

Karla groaned, fell back, and rolled onto her front, kicking off her heels. She then rolled back over and unbuttoned her jeans, yanking them off awkwardly as she tried to stay horizontal. She could feel the braid in her hair, an uncomfortable ridge along the back of her head. She ripped her rubber band out, combing through the plaits with her fingers, and fell back onto the bed, sighing and pulling Saul's pillow over her eyes.

The pillow smelt of him, and she breathed in deep. The scent soothed her and slowly she pulled the pillow away. The sky outside the window turned gray, and then pale pink while she waited for her heart to slow.

Desperately, she clutched at her phone and the screen lit up, but there was no message. She held back a sob; she'd do anything to curl up in Saul's arms after a vision like that, and let him kiss her and stroke her hair until she felt normal again.

In the vision, it was very dark, and what dim light there was seemed to radiate from behind the figure she was following. She couldn't even see his face, just his back as he walked away from her, leaving her in the blackness. No matter how fast she ran, she couldn't catch up to him; no matter how loud she called, he never turned.

And even more strangely, she felt like she knew the figure. Like he felt… familiar. She wondered if he was Zed, and a sharp stab of pain ran through her chest. She wondered if he was Saul, and the stabbing pain reappeared, only sharper and longer.

Karla sat up again, ran a hand through her hair and picked up her jeans. At the end of the room was a clothes bin; she flung her jeans at it, merely rolling her eyes when they hit the side and dropped to the ground.

Standing and stretching, she moved slowly towards her wardrobe and, upon entering, grabbed the nearest pair of sweatpants she could find. She tugged them on, feeling all the better for it as the soft fabric nestled against her legs.

The front door slammed, and Karla's head jerked upright.

There were was groaning and mumbling as several heavy footed men strode up the stairs. "Be quiet," a voice murmured; Saul. "Your mom's probably asleep."

Karla darted out of her bedroom, ran down the hall and flung herself on Saul when they met at the top of the stairs. He caught her easily, laughing tiredly as he lifted her, holding her tightly against him.

"Not asleep," she mumbled into his shoulder.

"But almost there it seems, sweetheart." Saul pressed a kiss to her head.

"I'm glad you're home," she whispered. "I couldn't sleep without you, my head… it was all over the place."

"I'm home now, honey," he replied, soothing her as he stroked her back gently. "The boys went straight to bed, we should do the same. I'm exhausted."

"Mmm," Karla didn't say anything more as Saul placed her carefully on the bed, and waited for her to get comfortable before dropping onto the sheets, still fully dressed and pulled her against him.

"I love you."

"Love you too, sweetheart."

 **00oo00oo00**

Karla felt absolutely hideous in the morning. She hadn't slept well, even after Saul had returned home, and now her head ached and she felt sick. It didn't help her outlook that Saul (ever the early riser) had vanished off to work with barely a kiss or a goodbye.

Wanting to keep her husband to his promise of dinner and shoes, she made an effort to shower, get dressed and drink two strong black coffees one after the other, before collapsing on the sofa in the family room and flicking on the television.

CNN broke the story first.

Karla was glad it had hit the news after Saul had called Zed and Yves in sick for school. It was unlikely that any conclusions would be drawn, but you could never be too sure. The less attention the Benedict's received, the better. She watched the newsreel play over and over again, anxious to hear how the media would phrase the account of the shooting and what attention it would garner. Unfortunately, it was a light news day, meaning the shooting earned itself non-stop coverage on every news channel.

"...A gang shooting gone bad last night resulted in the deaths of a family in Denver. Local police are suggesting that it was a drug deal gone bad. Among the murdered include five year old twins and a baby. The FBI are conducting an investigation as we speak and APB is out over the whole state. More information to come…"

Karla hit the button on the remote, cutting the presenter off mid-speech. She sighed, and closed her eyes, curling up on the sofa, knees tucked beneath her chin, hoping for break from her headache. They'd done what they could. Karla tried to put the previous evening behind her and concentrated something… anything else.

Zed, Yves and Xav were still asleep, and in a way she'd hoped they'd stay that way. Dealing with three grouchy and tired young men was not the way she planned to spend the day. No, she planned to shop her headache away and find the shoes April had sent her a picture of and eat a dinner that, for once, she hadn't cooked.

Her phone buzzed. It was Saul. Three messages opened in quick succession, full of sweet nothings and 'I love you's'. Karla smiled, and replied with three heart emojis, hoping he'd understand.

Saul returned home halfway through an episode of America's Next Top Model. He dropped on to the sofa next to her, didn't bother with a hello, pulled her towards him and kissed her fiercely, once, twice, three times so she was breathless when he finally pulled away.

"You all right, darling?" He asked, lovingly concerned as he ran he hand down her arm, his voice deep and rumbling.

"No, I'm tired and achy." Karla complained, snuggling closer to her husband. "My head hurts, my brain hurts, my stomach hurts, my legs hurt… I'm a wreck."

He chuckled. "Thought I was taking you out today?"

"You are!" Karla said quickly, looking up eagerly, eyes wide and bright. "I found some shoes I want."

He chuckled at her enthusiasm. "Whenever you're ready, my lovely."

 **00oo00oo00**

It really did seem Saul was intent on making amends, because they didn't stop at the small shopping mall outside of Aspen, instead he drove them both into Denver and stopped at the much larger shopping mall in the heart of the city.

"You hate shopping," Karla mumbled as he parked.

"True, but I love you and I heard somewhere that a happy wife equals a happy life, so here we are." He got out of his side and quickly darted round to hers. He opened her car door for her, and pressed a kiss to her cheek as she passed. "How do you feel?"

"Fine," Karla lied, cringing as the sound of the slamming door echoed in her head.

They walked in silence towards the shops, Saul shortening his stride to match hers.

 **00oo00oo00**

Saul looked up from his book, and frowned as his wife pouted at him. "What's wrong?" he asked, hoping it was something easily fixed.

"They don't have the shoes I want," Karla said unhappily, sitting on the bench next to him. Saul sighed, hoping it sounded sympathetic and slid his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. He didn't bother asking if another pair of shoes would do. He glanced down at Karla's bags and then at his wife.

"Did you want to get some dinner?"

"Sure," Karla replied and stood, smoothing out her jeans and straitening her jumper. "Do I look okay?"

"You look beautiful, honey." And she did; high waisted black skinny jeans, gray turtleneck jumper, gold hoops in her ears and black heels on her feet. Her make-up was her usual - winged eyeliner, dusty lashes and a plummy lipstick that made her lips pout. From behind she looked a little over sixteen, and from the front she passed for her early thirties. "You're stunning, let me take you to dinner, the waiters will fawn over you, and I will be very smug because I'm the one that gets to take you home."

"And to bed," she said quietly, and then caught her husband's eye and flushed, giggling. "What? I just… It just came out…I didn't even know I was saying it!"

"You little minx," Saul teased, "I can't believe you let me bring you out here, dressed up so beautifully, so the waiters would flirt and I would get jealous, all so we'd get home and I'd keep you up in our bedroom for the rest of the evening."

"Damn," Karla played along, laughing. "You've foiled my plans."

"It's just as well," Saul continued, "it would be terribly irresponsible to leave our children to fend for themselves while we enjoyed ourselves upstairs."

"Oh, we could put on a film, X-Men always goes down a treat."

"We are terrible parents," Saul concluded and pulled Karla in to kiss her gently.

"Dinner?" She whispered in his ear, swaying in his arms.

"Dinner," he confirmed, "and then… back to bed."

Saul winked, gathering her bags, and Karla laughed, taking his hand and pulling him along behind her.

 **00oo00oo00**

Of course, it wasn't quite as simple as that. The minute they were through the door, Karla insisted on checking on their youngest sons. Xav was asleep. According to the pile of plates in his room, he'd risen to feed himself earlier. Yves was next. She found him curled up in the center of his bed, flicking through a brochure for a college in California, and sat down gently, so as not to disturb him, and smoothed his t-shirt, rubbing his back soothingly.

 _I_ _haven't decided which college I'm going to yet,_ Yves said quietly.

Karla hesitated. _I want you to stay._

Yves shook his head. _I can't, mom, Denver isn't right for me. I want to get away._ He looked up at his mother. _Surely you can understand that._

Karla nodded and tapped the cover of the brochure. _California is so far away._

 _I know._

 _Are you hungry? I can make you some pasta or something._

 _Not really. I had a sandwich earlier._

She sighed, standing and moving back over to the door. _I'll miss you_ _…_ _really._ Karla could hear Yves' thoughts as she wandered back down the hall.

Yes, he would really miss her, too.

She knocked on Zed's door.

 _I'm fine. I'll eat later. Please go away._

Karla wondered whether she should push and then decided against it. Saul was always telling her to pick her battles; this one wasn't worth fighting. She could see it would only end in tears and yelling.

 **00oo00oo00**

Karla slammed their bedroom door behind her and marched straight up to her husband, catching his jacket in her hands and tugging it off him. His features turned from tired to surprised in seconds.

"Karla-"

"Let's be bad parents," she murmured, dropping his jacket to the floor and flinging hers off to the side.

"I've wanted to kiss you like this _all_ evening," he said, almost growling as he took her hips in his hands and pulled her against him.

His mouth was hard on hers, unyielding; then he put both arms around her and held her tighter. His lips softened. She could feel the rapid beat of his heart, taste the sweetness of apples still on his mouth. She wound her hands into his hair and it curled around her fingers, silky and fine. Her heart was hammering, and there was a rushing sound in her ears, like beating wings.

They paused to breathe and all Karla could smell was his aftershave, his shampoo and the unique scent that was just him. His face had the slightest bit of stubble, but she hardly cared as he pressed his lips to hers again, the shadow rubbing against her skin.

He pulled away slightly. "Bed?"

"Bed… wall… bath… I don't care." She said breathlessly, pulling his face back down to hers. His hands found the bottom of her jumper, untucking it from her jeans as he pushed her in the direction of the bed and lifted it over her head, tossing it aside.

Karla laughed as her legs bumped against the mattress and she fell back. Saul followed shortly after, covering her body with his own eagerly, as he pressed her down and kissed her furiously.


	5. Chapter Five

N: Another day, another chapter, haha. I feel like I'm making good on my promise to upload regularly. So, a guest reviewer, I'm assuming your name if Llamacorn (please don't hate me if I'm wrong) asked how old Karla and Saul were so here's the answer. In truth, I don't actually know although in Stealing Phoenix Joss describes Saul as "A tall man in late middle age" and later on describes Karla like this "managed to look far too young to have seven grown up sons". From that I would assume they were roughly in their late forties, early fifties. But, I did do a bit of math before writing to give myself a rough idea of the characters age-wise and this is what I have come up with. (I apologize in advance because it is really long winded.)

Finding Sky is set in 2010 (going by when the book was published), with Zed being 16, Yves being 17 and Xav being 18. In Seeking Crystal it is confirmed that there is 10 years between Crystal and Diamond, therefore there is ten years between Xav and Trace, making Trace 28 years old in Finding Sky. This means that Trace was born in 1982. Now in Summer Shadows, Ivan Chong tells Summer and Hal that he met Saul in the eighties at Harvard University, and, thanks to Zoe who says "why anyone as clever as Mr Benedict… bookshelves, crammed full of the kind of things my sister's reading at college, philosophy and stuff." we can assume that Saul met Ivan while studying there, making them around that kind of college age (19-24). Going along with that roughly, and noting that they get married at seventeen, we can assume that they were born in 1964, give or take a few years, making them 46 years old in Finding Sky (2010).

I hope that makes sense.

Also if anyone is interested, I've also developed my own cast list so you can see who I'm thinking of when I'm writing the characters.

I hope you enjoy this chapter, thank you for all the reviews and everything, it really means a lot. Xoxo

Disclaimer - I don't own anything. All rights to Joss Stirling.

 **Chapter Five**

The first person Karla saw in the morning was Zed. Saul had, as usual, gone to work early in the morning, leaving her to sleep in till about ten. She had just finished making her coffee when her youngest son stalked into the kitchen, scowling, his shoulders hunched. His eyes were heavy, shadowed by dark circles.

"Morning," she said, startling him. He must not of noticed her.

"Hey, mom," he mumbled.

"Have you been up all night?" Karla asked quietly, leaning against the counter. "I thought you were sleeping better now."

"Not really." His tone was short and snappy.

"You haven't slept, I can tell; one eye's bigger than the other. You look like a strung out Power-puff girl." Her humor was lost on him, she realized. Her youngest son scowled at her, so she smiled gently at him. "Are you going out?"

"Ghost town," he muttered. "You need anything?"

She shook her head. "Will you be home for dinner?"

He shrugged. "Don't know. I might head out with Sean."

Karla tried not to look disapproving; she couldn't stand Sean or many of Zed's friends for that matter. "Well, I'll save you some anyway. Just in case."

"Thanks."

After he'd left, Karla could help but worry for him. He was slipping, far more than any of his brothers, far more than Trace and Victor.

She could not stand to see her son suffer so much, could not bear it. She tried to banish the vision she'd had the other night from her mind, tried to see something else, anything else. All to no avail. Her bleak visions filled her head again, and she wanted to scream with the agony they caused. It sickened her.

She couldn't lose her son this way, the same way she'd lost April and Nancy, she wouldn't allow it. There had to be a way to circumvent the future. She wouldn't let her visions direct Zed. He could choose a different path. There was always a choice.

There had to be.

 **00oo00oo00**

Saturday called for another appointment with Dr Reeves, only this time, Saul had trusted Karla to drive herself to Denver _and_ actually attend the session without him. She had a bad reputation for not turning up to her sessions, much to Saul's despair. She just couldn't help but rebel. But she promised she'd try, so here she was; on the road again.

Karla's appointment was at three-fifteen and she was three minutes late. She didn't really care; her appointment was shorter on Saturday's (forty-five minutes) and the shields she attempted to build always broke a couple days after - just in time for her next session, ironically.

"How are you doing?" Dr Reeves asked, sitting in the plum leather chair behind her desk, wearing a perfectly tailored pantsuit despite the temperature inside the office.

"I'm good." Karla's head nods too hard, but she can't make it stop. "Really good. Great in fact."

Her eyes narrow. Karla's lies were made of glass and Dr Reeves could see right through them. "I had a vision the other night. Freaked me out completely."

"Tell me about it."

"I was following someone, couldn't tell who exactly but he was walking away from me and I was following them."

"He?"

"I couldn't see who, but it was definitely a guy. I kept calling out to them, telling them to stop, to wait, to slow down. Just kept walking."

"But you have your suspicions? On who the figure is?"

"I _think_ ," Karla said carefully, "that it could be either Saul or Zed. But I have been known to be wrong."

"Hm," Dr Reeves placed her fingertips together and rested her chin on them. She didn't say anything for a long moment and for Karla, the office is too quiet. She swore it fed off silence, and suddenly was so much bigger than normal. Karla glanced at the clock; fifteen minutes had gone by already.

"Things change. My visions aren't a certainty. There's no guarantee-"

"You always tell me that there are things you can't tell Saul." The doctor interrupts. Karla froze. "Things you won't tell me either."

"For good reason." They were stepping into dangerous territory now. This was the topic Karla tried to avoid talking, even thinking about.

"I don't doubt that, Karla." Dr Reeves knew when to stop pushing. "If you want to talk about it more, I am always on the other end of the phone. Do you still have that number I gave you?"

Karla tried not to spit out the not-much-point-if-you-don't-pick-up comment that was trying to claw its way off her tongue. Being a bitch was something that often happened to her when she was forced to endure things she didn't like. It was her go-to state of mind; sarcastic, pessimistic and blunt. It was a reason many people disliked her, and one of the reasons Saul loved her. Sometimes, although he often disapproved, he liked nothing more than to sit back and watch as she tore apart some poor unsuspecting victim.

"Yeah, sure," she mumbled.

"So you will call me?"

"Yeah."

Then they moved on to shields, and Dr Reeves helped Karla rebuild hers, before adding another layer to strengthen them. They talked about control and practicing with her visions and focusing on breathing techniques and remembering to have a system in place for when the attacks happen, one that's the same each time.

But then suddenly the doctor said, "Why don't we try practicing with your shields now? It will give you an idea of what Saul can do to help you."

"Um… okay?"

Karla closed her eyes and put everything she had against the shield she had built. It was weak compared so Saul's. Fragile. Delicate.

"I'm going to try and break through in three… two… one…"

It started off with a gentle tapping, and then knocking, and then something was bulldozing her. The office swam in front of her eyes and vanished. It felt as though her head was splitting in half; her shields shattered and she could do nothing to rebuild them. The air knocked out of her and she drank in oxygen in heavy, short gasps.

She felt a sharp pain in her knee. Dr Reeves office had come back into view and she realized that she had fallen to the floor; one of her knees had collided painfully with the leg of the doctor's desk. She looked up Dr Reeves, and smiled at Karla sympathetically.

"It wasn't bad, Karla," she said gently. "Your shields did hold for a little while. We'll try it again in a moment. Just remember to breathe, no emotions, no pain, focus on the shield. Put everything you have against someone getting in your head."

The second time, Karla found herself on her knees again, her face buried in her hands, her brain aching as though someone had been trying to pull it from her skull.

"Once more," Dr Reeves commanded.

Once, twice, a third - even fourth time later, and Karla was still on all fours in the doctor's office, her head thumping loudly. She pushed herself up again to find Dr Reeves staring at her, eyes narrowed. They flickered momentarily to the clock, and then back to Karla.

"Time's up," she said softly. "When shall we have our next appointment?"

Karla suggested next Wednesday, same time as usual.

She insisted on Thursday, in the afternoon.

The doctor liked to mix up their therapy sessions a little, said she wanted to keep a pinch of spontaneity in their meetings; that way, Karla's brain wouldn't try to rely on a routine.

"Remember to remove any emotion from your mind before you sleep; empty it, make it blank and calm, you understand?"

"Yes," said Karla, who was barely listening.

"I'll know if you haven't been practicing. Ask Saul, have faith in him."

Like hell she'd ever willingly take on the chance of humiliating herself in front of her husband. Karla mumbled a yes, a thank you, and picked up her handbag, swung it over her shoulder and hurried through the office door.

She was already trying to invent a sickness that will prevent her from leaving the house next week.

 **00oo00oo00**

She drove home in a daze, her mind numb and hands trembling. When she finally made it home, she didn't get out of the car immediately. Karla curled over, pressing her face against the steering wheel, trying to breathe without lungs.

After a moment, she raised her head and stared out of the windshield for a long moment, her thoughts moving sluggishly. She cut the engine, which was groaning in a pitiful way after idling for so long, and stepped out into the drizzle.

The cold rain dripped through her hair and trickled across her cheeks like freshwater tears. It helped to clear her head. She blinked the water from her eyes, staring at her home.

Inside, Karla found the house empty - which was fine by her. She didn't miss the pinball machine mentality she'd become accustomed to. Yves and Xav had left a note pinned to the fridge door. She read it quickly;

 _Gone to meet Will with Zed and Dad. Probably will be late home for dinner. Going to play baseball at the field in Aspen - want to join us? We need a referee. Please?_

Karla found a pen and scrawled the word 'sorry' beneath her sons plea. The teams were even without her, in any case.

Ignoring the fact that she her clothes were damp and her hair was dripping onto the floor, Karla decided to make chicken enchiladas for dinner. It was a long process; and it would keep her busy. While she was simmering the onions and the chilies, the phone rang. She was almost afraid to answer it, but it might have been the school or one of the boys. It was April, and she was strangely jubilant; she'd been offered a job in California.

Karla celebrated with her briefly while she stirred. After a while, April wanted to go - she wanted to call Nancy - but Karla was invited to a going away party April was hosting the night before she left for California. It wasn't for a couple of weeks, but April asked if they'd help her go through her wardrobe a couple of days in advance, throwing out anything that she couldn't take. Karla promised she'd be there, and offered to make dessert. April thought that was a great idea - for once sounding sincere.

After her friend hung up, Karla tried to concentrate on dinner - dicing the chicken especially. No trips to the emergency room tonight, thank you very much.

But her thoughts drifted and she wondered if she could persuade Saul to go to Mexico in the summer. Karla focused her thoughts on sunny beaches and palm trees as she finished the enchiladas and put them in the oven.

 **00oo00oo00**

Zed would have thought he was far beyond the ability to be surprised considering he'd grown up surrounded by Savants _and_ could see the future, but he was surprised when he found his mom curled up on the sofa, hands clenched tightly in fists.

He glanced over his shoulder; his older brothers and father would be walking inside any second now and wondered if it was a good idea to disturb her.

"Mom?"

Karla didn't react when Zed called her name, and as he moved closer he saw her face properly. Her eyes were blank, dazed and she seemed paler than normal. Against his better judgment (waking someone from a vision was like waking someone who was sleepwalking), he hurried to her side, reaching out automatically to touch her hand.

"Karla?" Saul's voice called out, and then he was at her side, hands curling over hers, loosening them from their clenched state. "What is it?" he demanded.

Karla didn't respond at first, and then, slowly, she turned her face away, into Saul's chest. "Zed," she murmured.

"I'm right here," Zed replied.

Her head twisted around, her dark eyes locking onto his, their expression still strangely blank. Zed realized at once that she hadn't been speaking to him, she'd been answering his father's question.

"What did you see?" Zed asked coolly. He didn't like it when his mom had visions of him.

Saul looked at his son sharply. Zed folded his arms and waited. Saul's eyes were wary as they flickered between his wife's face and Zed's, sensing the tension.

Karla suddenly recovered.

"Nothing really," she answered finally, her voice remarkably calm and convincing. "Nothing I haven't seen before."

Zed rolled his eyes and drifted towards the stairs. "We invited Trace, Uri and Vick for dinner," he called back down. "Vick wants to talk to us about the case we worked the other night. Give me a shout when dinner's ready."

Karla looked up at her husband, eyes wide. "You could have called!"

He shrugged. "Didn't think you'd mind."

"I've already started dinner," she replied, exasperated. She stood and kissed his cheek. "Did you have fun playing ball?"

"My team lost. Needed you there."

"How can I possibly bring my sons up right when their father is a cheater himself?" Karla pushed his chest gently, but she smiled lovingly. "Where are Yves and Xav?"

"With Will in the kitchen."

Karla grinned. "Will!" she called happily, moving into the kitchen and pulling him in for a dizzying hug. The middle Benedict laughed and lifted his mother off the ground as he hugged her. "I've missed you too, mom!"

 **00oo00oo00**

After dinner, and after Victor had explained who exactly he'd put away in the drugs case for at least thirty minutes, and lectured everyone how important it was to maintain cover, everyone trooped into the family room and then went to their various pastimes.

Uriel and Victor set themselves up with an elaborate game of chess, utilizing four joined boards - spread out along the back wall of the room - and their own complicated set of rules. They wouldn't let Karla play; only Zed, Yves and Saul would play games with her now.

Yves went straight to his laptop and text books that had previously been abandoned on the dining room table; he was still making college plans, and Karla sat with him, pointing out various courses and features that might interest him.

Xav sprawled on the sofa with his father and Zed, flicking through twenty channels a minute, never stopping. Karla could hear him trying to decide whether or not to set up a games console and blow up zombies.

Will and Trace were battling it out on the table-tennis table and Saul lost himself in a new book he had ordered.

After a while, Karla leaned her chair back into the family room and started mouthing Uriel's next moves - Uriel sat on the floor with his back to her - to Victor, who kept his expression very straight as he cut off Uriel's favorite knight.

But despite all the distractions, Karla's head still ached, worse than before. She put up with it for an hour longer, and then decided she'd go to bed early that night. Saul had continued to watch her anxiously and it was getting on her nerves. She stopped on her way to grab three Tylenol from the cupboard in the bathroom.

They did help, and, as the pain eased, she drifted to sleep.


	6. Chapter Six

AN: Hey guys! It's been a while... and I'm sorry about that. I really mean it. It has been a while - several months in fact. I don't really have an excuse - just that writer's block is a bit of bitch and nothing I wrote felt like it was any good so I fell back into a classic bad habit and did a bit of editing - or rather a lot of editing. The previous five chapters still follow the same story line except that I've added and removed parts to make it flow better, I feel like the timing in the story is a lot better and I like what I've written a hell of a lot better. I've also made Karla's friends a lot nicer, altered the way Karla's sessions with Dr Reeves work and I feel like I'm sticking more to how Karla is portrayed in the books.

In answer to your question/comments, Llamacorn, I'm trying to stick as much as I can to how Karla is portrayed in the books, but as Karla's material is lacking to begin with, I am having to embellish where I can - especially where her gifts are concerned. I have put a note in my bio if you want more info on my interpretation of Karla. Also, feel free to call me out if I'm swerving too much from Karla in the books.

I really appreciate your persistence with my stories and I'm sorry I kept you waiting so long. I am working on chapter three of Lies Like Love but it is taking a little longer than expected. If you follow me on Twitter or Tumblr or if you follow the story on here that is the quickest way for you to be alerted about updates and chapter info etc. (all links are in my bio!)

Once again, I'm really, truly sorry for my absence. I hope this is worth the wait. Please continue to read and review - it means a lot - and as always, please enjoy the story.

Quick key - _italics_ are for Karla's mind reading and _**bold italics**_ are for telepathy between Savants. **Bold** like this is for text messages & business cards etc.

 **Disclaimer - I don't own anything. All rights to Joss Stirling.**

 **Chapter** **Six**

 **THREE WEEKS LATER**

 **MONDAY**

When Saul came down to the kitchen on Monday morning, Karla was sat at the table, mug of coffee in hand. She smiled at him and pushed a second mug toward him.

"Morning," he said, pressing a kiss to the top of her head gratefully. "You sleep okay?"

Karla nodded. "Much better. The pills help."

"Good." He kissed her again. "What's for breakfast?"

That threw his wife for a minute. Her brows pulled together and she rose from the table and crossed to room to the fridge. "I'm not sure…"

Karla pulled open the door and leaned against it, deliberating. "What would you like? There's cereal, but it's Lucky Charms and Xav will throw a tantrum if you eat it. We have eggs - I could scramble some if you wanted."

Saul laughed gently. "That's all right. I fend pretty well for myself, honey. You can watch me hunt."

Karla raised an eyebrow, retaking her seat at the table. " _Hunt_?" she questioned. "Is that what you do when I'm not around?"

She watched skeptically as Saul dropped two slices of toast in the toaster, got a plate and grabbed the marmalade from the cupboard. After the toast popped up, he set the food on the table, then paused. The empty space in front of Karla made him feel rude.

"Did you want me to get you some?" He knew that Karla didn't eat breakfast, but it didn't stop him from asking.

Karla closed her eyes and rested her head on her arms. "Just eat, Saul."

Her eyes opened once he started chewing. She was staring at him, studying his every movement. It made him self-conscious. Saul swallowed so he could speak, wanting to distract his wife.

"Anything on the agenda today?"

Karla frowned. "Well, _you_ have all the juniors from the high school joining you for a couple of rafting sessions today."

"Oh, right." Saul glanced at his watch, and then looked at Karla.

"It's not until eleven and I've already asked the boys to help you out." She smiled at him and patted his arm. "Don't worry, darling, I've got this."

"You're not joining us then?" Saul asked.

She snorted delicately. "Not likely; it's my day off. Besides, what do you need me there for? Candice is working the reception desk and you've got Yves, Zed and Xav to help out. I'd just be standing around admiring you."

"Emotional support?"

Karla stood and kissed him on the mouth firmly. "Eat your breakfast," she commanded. "I'll go and wake our children up."

 **00oo00oo00**

"Dude, where's your wetsuit?"

Zed was trying to eat his lunch alone in his room, but his older brother wouldn't let him. Xav stood there in the doorway, already dressed in his wetsuit and shorts, inhaling a tortilla wrap his mother had made him.

"Dad's gonna be back in like, a minute," the fifth Benedict said through a mouthful of pepper, chicken and salsa. "Mom's gonna freak if you're not ready."

Karla came up behind her son and thumped him on the shoulder.

"Are you annoying Zed again?"

She had to reach up to do it. Xav was his father's son; he was at least a foot and several inches taller than his mother.

Karla pushed past Xav, weighed down by a basket of clean washing. "Why is your food not on a plate?" she complained. "You're going to make a mess on my carpets."

"Sorry, mom," Xav apologized, kissing her cheek and vanishing down the stairs. Zed glowered after him.

Karla ignored her youngest son's expression, placed the basket on Zed's bed and rummaged through it until she found his wetsuit.

"Once you've finished eating, you can get ready to help your father this afternoon. _Don't_ forget to bring that plate down so that I can wash it."

"But-"

"But nothing." She grinned at him cheerfully. "Push all that teenage angst and sadness deep down inside yourself, plaster on a smile and crack on with today."

 **00oo00oo00**

Zed met his brothers in the kitchen. While he had been getting ready, their father had arrived and instantly pulled their mother into his arms. It made Zed feel a little sick; only in the Benedict household would full-on make-out sessions between their parents in the kitchen be considered the norm.

Xav grabbed his sleeve. "Come on, let's go."

They could wait in the Jeep. Their dad would be out in a minute - as soon as he'd finished snogging their mom.

"Be careful," Karla murmured, pulling away as soon as the door closed. "Promise me, you'll be careful."

"I always am, darling." Saul pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Don't worry about me."

"Hmm." But deep down, Karla was felt uneasy, and it wasn't just her fear of water talking. "Look after my boys," she ordered, jabbing his chest with her finger.

"I promise, I will look after our sons," Saul pressed another kiss to her mouth. "I have to go, we'll be late."

"Go then," Karla murmured. Another kiss, and then; "You'll be home in time for dinner?" she questioned.

"I'll do my best," Saul promised.

"Dad! Come on!" Xav yelled. "You can play tonsil tennis later!"

Saul pulled away, deliberating and then sprung forward, kissing her fiercely again.

"Go to work, Saul Benedict!" Karla pushed her husband away, laughing.

"I love you," he said against her mouth.

Karla giggled and gave him another push. "I love you too. Now, go to work!"

 **00oo00oo00**

Saul met the Wrickenridge High Juniors on the bank of the river. He recognized Tina and Nelson instantly, heart warming when he saw how they hovered around Sky. It wasn't often that new kids were so easily accepted in small towns.

As he was running through safety protocols for the water, he couldn't help but overhear a whispered conversation between the two girls.

"Great - we've got Mr Benedict - Zed and Yves' father. He's the best," Tina was saying. "He totally rocks on the water."

Saul felt his neck flush with embarrassment. He was suddenly thankful that Karla wasn't there to overhear their conversation - she'd never let him forget that Tina Monterey thought he 'rocked on the water'.

He looked at the two girls. "Ladies, if you would listen, please. I'm running through vital safety protocols."

There he went again; Captain Health and Safety. Karla would have laughed, told him to stop being so boring and pushed him in the river to prove her point.

"The most important thing is to always obey orders," Saul stressed. He looked around at the group. "Some of you said you were interested in kayaking. Is that right?" A tall, broad shouldered boy with a shaved head raised his hand. "My sons are out on the course right now. I'll let them know you want a lesson."

As Saul gestured to the course, he looked up and felt a surge of pride as he watched his youngest sons race each other down the rapids. He smiled as Zed shot to the front, twisting around Yves in a turn so sharp his heart gave a lurch and tried not to laugh as Zed crossed the finish line, punching the air with his paddle.

Saul really did have to fight laughter as Zed and Xav shoved each other in the water, splashing Yves until he helped his brothers out of the water.

"My younger sons," Saul said, shrugging. _**Boys, whenever you're ready, I have a rafting session and a kayaking session for one. Decide among yourselves who is taking what. Remember two of you need to be with the kayaker.**_

"Get the raft launched, Dad, and I'll be right with you when I get changed," Xav shouted. "Zed'll take the kayaker."

Saul lead the rafting party the landing stage and immediately began to tell the teenagers where they were sitting.

"River's running high since the rain over the weekend. We need the smallest and lightest in the centre of this seat so you don't get flipped out."

Nelson nudged Sky forward. "That'd be you, Sky baby."

"One of my sons will take the paddle at the front, and you," he pointed at Nelson, "take the other side. That leaves you two girls to sit behind them near me."

"Xav and Yves are taking the kayaker," Zed announced as he appeared at the landing stage, snatching up the last paddle.

Saul frowned. "I thought that was your job."

"Yeah, well, I saw that he was going to be a jerk. Yves' better at handling that."

 _ **If you can see a job being difficult, you don't pass it on to someone else, Zed. I've told you that enough times.**_ Saul sighed. _**Are you okay?**_

 _ **I'm fine,**_ Zed muttered, _**let's just get it over with.**_

Saul wanted to say more. A lot more. He glanced at the crowd of juniors and pushed Zed towards the raft; everyone followed, taking their places.

"Girl in the middle at the front - Sky, isn't it?" Saul knew her name - of course he did. But the poor girl looked terrified and in dire need to reassurance.

"Yes, sir?"

"If it gets rough, link arms with your neighbors. Girls up my end, make sure your feet stay in the toeholds on the bottom of the raft when it starts to buck. They'll keep you from falling in."

From the front of the raft Nelson snorted. "Not worried about the boys then, is he?"

Saul rolled his eyes. If Nelson followed the instructions he'd been given, the boy would have nothing to worry about. He was about to say as much when Zed jumped in.

"He thinks men should be able to look after themselves. Got a problem with that?"

Saul allowed himself a quiet chuckle as Nelson stuttered out a "nope" and glanced over his shoulder at his youngest son. Zed looked up and gave a small smile.

 _ **He's a wimp. Just ignore him. I do.**_

 _ **Leave him be. Eyes ahead, Zed and I'll push us off.**_

Saul pushed the raft off from the moorings, feeling the thrill in his stomach as the raft began to pick up speed.

This was where he was meant to be.

 **00oo00oo00**

 _ **Dad!**_

Zed yelled at the same time as a sharp jab echoed throughout his head - a warning siren for danger. Saul looked over his shoulder at his youngest son, relieved to find that he was okay. Karla would never have forgiven Saul if any of their children were harmed helping him on the water.

"Everything okay, Zed?" he called.

 _ **It was my fault!**_ Zed was panicking. _**I tried to stop it happening but she fell in anyway. It's all my fault, I'm so-**_

"Sky's fallen in!" Nelson yelled.

 _ **Okay, okay, Zed. Calm down, son. It's going to be fine. Can you see her?**_

"Oh my God, Sky! Are you okay?" Tina shrieked. __

_**Yeah, she's holding onto a boulder.**_

 _ **Keep us to the left, Zed.**_ Saul started to steer the boat in Sky's direction and Zed and Nelson pulled Sky back into the boat. _**Is she injured?**_ Saul asked.

"She's fine. A bit scraped up but fine."

 **00oo00oo00**

After he and Zed had loaded the raft onto the trailer, Saul turned his attention to the shivering blonde girl.

"You alright, Sky?" he asked. The girl said nothing, merely nodded. "What happened?"

" _He_ -" Sky jumped in first, indicating Zed "-flattened me - made me lose my grip!"

"I realized what was going to happen - I tried to warn her," Zed snapped.

Sky scowled. " _You_ made it happen."

" _I_ tried to stop it - shoulda just left you to it." Zed glanced at his father, eyes seeking support.

"Yeah, perhaps you should - and then I wouldn't be freezing to death here!"

"Enough!" Saul caught Zed's arm and pulled him closer. "Sky, get in the Jeep before you get any colder. Zed, a word."

Zed waited until Sky had slammed the jeep door before speaking.

"It _wasn't_ my fault," he said angrily.

"And I'm not blaming you," Saul replied. "But Sky-"

" _Sky_ ungrateful, rude and- and-"

"Sky is frightened, cold and exhausted. She is not used to being hurled about on a river like you, Zed. You've been out on a raft since you were four."

"She should have stayed away then!"

"Stayed out of your way, you mean?" Saul shook his head. "I brought you up to treat women better than this, Zed."

"She is constantly in my head. At school, at the weekend and now _here_!" Zed kicked at some stones in anger. "I am sick and tired of listening to all the weird crap in her head - it's giving me a headache."

"It's giving you an attitude, that's what it's doing."

"I'm done! I'm not watching over her anymore - she can get attacked for all I care!" Zed stalked away from his father into the woods.

"Where are you going, Zed?" Saul called after him.

"Home!" Zed shouted.

"Fine. Go." Saul couldn't be bothered to argue with him any longer. "But you better not speak to your mother the same way you've spoken to me."

Saul walked back to the Jeep and slammed the door. "I'm sorry about that, Sky."

"It's okay, Mr Benedict. I don't know why but your son seems to have a problem with me." _Not a problem with you, Sky, a problem with everyone,_ Saul wanted to say. "I don't need an apology. Perhaps he could just keep his distance or something. I don't like people laying into me without cause."

Saul watched his son disappear into the forest. "If it's any comfort, he's got a lot on his mind at the moment. I've asked too much of him. Give him a chance to work things out."

He wished he could help Zed more, wished he could take all the weight and responsibility from his son and carry it himself.

He supposed every parent though the same about their children.

 **00oo00oo00**

Zed would have thought he was far beyond the ability to be surprised considering he'd grown up surrounded by Savants and could see the future, but he was perplexed when his found his mom curled up on the sofa, hands clenched tightly in fists.

He glanced over his shoulder, half considering call the centre to get his brothers and dad to come home as soon as they could and wondered if it was a good idea to disturb her.

"Mom?"

Karla didn't react when Zed called her name, and as he moved closer he saw her face properly. Her eyes were blank, dazed and she seemed paler than normal. Against his better judgment (disturbing someone from a vision was similar to waking someone who was sleepwalking), he hurried to her side, reaching out automatically to touch her hand.

"Mom," he said again. The thrashing had stopped between his ears; his anger had faded the minute he'd seen his mother in such a vulnerable position. His hands curled over hers, loosening them from their clenched state. "What is it?"

His mother didn't respond at first, and then, slowly, she turned her face away. "Zed," she murmured.

"I'm right here," Zed replied.

Her head twisted around, her dark eyes locking onto his, their expression still strangely blank. Zed realized at once that she hadn't been speaking to him directly, she'd been answering his previous question.

"What did you see?" Zed asked coolly. He didn't like it when his mom had visions of him, but his anger was spent and besides, his mom was still trapped somewhere between the present and the future. It was a dangerous position.

Karla suddenly recovered.

"Nothing really," she answered finally, her voice remarkably calm and convincing. "Sky fell in the water. You pulled her out. She's fine but she blames you." Karla shook her head, like she was trying to get water out of her ear. "You argued with your father."

Zed rolled his eyes and drifted to the stairs. "He doesn't understand," he muttered, "he just takes Sky's side."

"I'm sure he only meant well, darling." Karla's head cocked to one side. "You're home early for someone that was supposed to be working at the centre all day."

Zed shrugged and climbed the first few sets of stairs. "Didn't feel like sticking around."

"Are you going upstairs?" Karla sounded disappointed. "I'm making lasagne for dinner. You could help if you liked."

"Um…" Zed hesitated. He had been planning on taking his frustrations out on some fictional bad guys from Call of Duty, already working out his choice of weapons and explosives.

"Oh, go on," Karla said, smiling sweetly. "You used to practically beg me to let you help."

"Yeah, when I was five, mom." Zed sighed and grinned at his mother. "All right, I'll help. Just let me get changed first. I'm a bit damp."

Karla laughed. "Yes," she agreed, "I don't want you dripping water in the lasagne. Is that your wetsuit? Bring it and those shorts down and I'll wash them for you, else it they'll start to smell. Oh, and Zed?"

Zed turned back to his mom, eyebrows raised.

"Everything's going to be okay. What happened to Sky wasn't your fault."

As her youngest son nodded, Karla thought she saw a faint flicker of relief in his eyes. She offered him one last smile as he disappeared up the stairs.

 **00oo00oo00**

Saul made it home after Xav and Yves, having opted to stay behind with Candice to help lock up the Outdoors Centre. He was still in time for dinner (when Karla was at home dinner was served at seven-thirty sharp; when Karla was away or out, dinner was served when someone gave up on cooking something edible and ordered take out) which pleased him; he didn't like to disappoint his wife.

"Hey, honey," he called from the hall, kicking off his boots and hanging his jacket on the hook. The smell of the lasagne Karla had spent the afternoon making wafted down the hall and Saul's eyes strayed to the kitchen.

Karla was crouched at the oven, pulling a large, steaming dish of lasagne out with her glove covered hands. Saul grinned as he wandered into the kitchen; it felt so nice to come home to his family and dinner almost on the table.

"That looks amazing," he said quietly, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "I'm so hungry."

Karla smiled. "Zed helped," she whispered.

Saul couldn't hide his surprise. "Zed helped you make dinner?"

Karla nodded, laughing a little. "He chopped all the vegetables, cooked the meat - he also opened the tins and the jars for me _and_ reached the pasta down from the top shelf. He's been good this afternoon, _don't_ lay into him."

Saul leaned against the counter, folding his arms. "I wasn't going to-"

"I know you argued. It wasn't his fault, Saul, he was only trying to help." Karla kissed her husband's cheek. "Please, leave him be, for me if anything. I've had a nice afternoon with Zed, don't spoil it."

Zed appeared in the kitchen. "I've laid the table," he announced. "Hey, dad."

"Hey, Zed," Saul replied. "Thank you for helping your mom with dinner."

Zed shrugged. "It was kinda fun."

"Same time tomorrow?" Karla asked.

"I have baseball practice," Zed said. He sounded almost disappointed and abruptly changed the subject. "I'm sorry for ditching you and storming off and getting mad."

"It's fine," Saul waved away Zed's apologies. "Nothing to be too bothered about."

"Go and get your brothers, Zed. I'm about to dish up." Karla gave Zed a gentle push out of the kitchen and grinned at her husband. "Can you get me some plates, querido?"

As he held each plate for his wife, Saul watched her dish out the lasagne with a wooden spatula as big as her arm. It was then that he really looked at her. She was wearing an old pair of jeans, ones with holes in at the knees and a soft gray jumper and no shoes or socks. The polish on her toes was chipped, a gold angel charm necklace hung around her neck and gold hoops swung from her earlobes.

"You look beautiful," Saul murmured, so quietly at first she didn't hear him and he had to repeat himself. Karla rolled her eyes in response, but the compliment must have improved her already good mood because the boys asked to eat their dinner in the living room so that they could watch a TV show and Karla said yes, as long as they were careful not to make a mess of her sofas and they did the washing up.

Saul and Karla were left alone to eat in the kitchen.

Karla stabbed her potion of lasagne with her fork, a speculative look in her eyes.

"I'm curious."

Saul tried to hide his amused grin. "What a surprise," he said through a large forkful of food.

"How does Sky Bright end up in the river today while rafting with Captain Health and Safety?" The glint in her eye showed she was only teasing.

"You're always curious," her husband complained. "And I don't know. Zed says that he saw Sky falling and tried to stop it happening - ended up causing it." He swallowed and scooped up another forkful. "She wasn't hurt. That's the main thing."

Karla shrugged. "Poor girl," she told him, "it all seems to happen to her, doesn't it?"


End file.
